Burning in the Shadows
by Acyrotin
Summary: Sequel to 'Embracing the ancient and supposedly destroyed figure returns from the grave, and Adrian soon finds himself caught in a storm of dilemmas. CrawlerxPrince OC, JoBxPrince OC in later chapters and slight Blade OCxPrince OC. -Being Revamped-
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Oh yes, we are back! This time in the sequel to 'Embracing the Darkness', set after the events at Archon's Folly. With the time that has passed in Adrian and the Crawler's absence, populations have slowly begun to repopulate. The Darkness has went on with destroying settlements that have are considered 'Empty of all Life' and have begun to reverse what has been done to the world.

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to any of the Fable series, I don't own the Crawler or Jack of Blades or any of that. However, I do own Adrian, Alluna, and the other OCs that make an appearance in here that I can't mention since it'll ruin the plot. ;D

Now, let's kick it off!

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Crawler looked relieved to be home again. Even it there was a chill in the air as the season Spring was slow to awake, it was still warmer than it had been in the Northern Wastes. One of the currently fur-clad arms wrapped around the waste of a young man with curly purple hair and skin as white as snow, but with eyes a vicious and toxic green. The man who had sacrificed Albion, the very human race, to the hulking figure beside him. He did it for selfish reasons, but he honestly couldn't have cared less. He smiled up towards the creature, ruby lips curved as he tilted his head to rest against one of his shoulders as they made their way up into the castle. The Children they took on the voyage were happy to return back to the place they now called 'Home', exhausted from the archeological work and journey back and just happy to get the chance to relax. The Balverines were very much the same, though they had to finish unpacking all the gear that had come from the journey.

As Alluna, silver slowly beginning to streak through her brunette hair, stepped into the building, she was met with the sight of Adrian with his arms around the void monster's neck, lips pressed against the hard teeth in a kiss. So used to their displays of affection was she that she politely looked away, off to the side. She gave a small 'ahem', enough to pull them apart from one another. "Yes, Alluna?"

"Sir, the Balverines are unpacking as we speak, the Children have crawled into the cave connected to your father's crypt and are no doubt sleeping. Everything is present and accounted for. Should I see about possibly getting some other Children to hunt down food to feed the masses?" She was still the same adviser and assistant that she had always been to Adrian. When she first chose his mercy, back when the Darkness first burst from its cavern and began to consume the world, she had thought she would come to regret it. But she quickly found that there was nothing to fear. Adrian saw her as a friend, someone to trust, and she had seen the man that had been behind the mask he had been wearing to act through his time as the 'Hero Ruler'.

He grinned at her, nodding to answer her question. "Seems like everything is in order as far as those concerns. Now, to see how Logan's been faring." They didn't have to look far. The older brother was seated in the throne in the throne room, zoning off currently. Children had come and go when things needed to be done, and he had moved when he needed to do things...but right now, he was like a puppet at rest, set down, unused, unneeded. It wasn't until Adrian was in the room that he refocused. "Hello, brother!" He greeted cheerfully, standing as the younger sibling rushed forward, practically tackling him in a hug that he returned. "How are you? How was the excavation?"

"I'm fine, and it was long and hard, but we got what we were after. Wanna see?" With a nod, he moved to the bag that was slung across his shoulder, opening it and reaching in. The utmost care had been taken to the object lying within, which had been wrapped and carefully protected from both the elements and harm. Clawed fingers carefully undid the wrappings and coverings, finally exposing the ancient ornate mask hidden beneath it.

"Wow..." It was a breathless whisper as dark eyes gazed at the mask. "The Mask of Jack of Blades...but I thought our ancestor destroyed it."

"Apparently he didn't."

"What are you going to do with it?"

Adrian gazed down at the object in his hands, turning it so it was 'face-to-face' with him. "For now, I am going to do some more research, see what needs to be done and all that...but at some point, I'm hoping to bring ol' Jack back from the grave." He rewrapped the mask, tucking it back into his bag. "Now, how have things been here, hmm? Give me complete details."

While the two brothers caught up on things, Alluna had scurried off to go get food for the hungry were-beasts and shades, the Crawler crept away to do his own thing for awhile...

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Adrian could finally get away, which was hours after getting there, he found himself sitting in the gardens behind the castle, though the plants were barren and dead still from their winter's sleep. He sat down, staring off at the light grey wintery sky, sighing softly. Despite how happy he was about being home, seeing his brother again, finally finding the mask...his mind was gnawing on other things at the moment. Something that had surfaced in the last few years, but had yet to speak up to the Crawler about. The lull in things to keep his mind busy had caused it to pop up once again, like dandelions in one's yard.

The once cave-dweller must've been picking up on his thoughts from the connection they shared through the Darkness, for he soon faded in beside the man with a wisp of shadow. "What's the matter, Adrian? Something's on your mind." It was a statement, and long fingers grabbed him and pulled him close. "Tell us."

The human gazed up towards him, smiling softly. "Remember when, shortly after we took over everything, I asked you a question?"

Black eyes darted as he searched his mind, reaching back to that day. It took a little bit, but eventually he sighed. "You had asked us if it were possible for us and a non-void monster to reproduce, and we said yes. Is that it?"

"Mm-hmm." Adrian said quietly. The Crawler's other hand moved to rub at the back of his neck.

"So you're still wanting children?" The amethyst-haired man nodded, eyes trailing down to hands that fidgeted in his lap. "Why?"

"I just...do. The Children aren't the same. They're not my blood-children, and I couldn't ever have them to begin with until you because two same-sex humans can't reproduce..." He leaned over, curling up against the creature's side, eyes closing. "I've waited a century. And besides, wouldn't you want a family at some point, too? Little ones clamoring for your affection, begging you to play with them, curling up with you when it's time to sleep with a storybook in hand..." He peered up with those big green eyes that could bend the beast's will with such ease. The ebony eyes gazed down at him, and slid closed.

"We'll start preparing things. But do not get your hopes up too much. Rates of survival just getting out of the egg sac are...well, small. It may take some time to succeed, and even afterwards complications can occur. Do you understand?" The human hummed in a weak acknowledgement. "We ask because it could be a long road of heartbreak...but if you so desperately want a child, we will do my best to give you one." He earned a hug for that, arms tightly coiling around him, pale face buried in the coat as many mumbled 'thank yous' were spoken into the fur. "You're welcome, Adrian...now, let's get inside where it's warm, hmm?" He asked, pulling away as he rose up onto his feet, offering a hand to the other. Adrian laughed, taking the offer and standing.

"Your aversion to the cold will never cease to amuse me." He said, hugging an arm as they returned to the building to seek shelter from the chill.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It was night now. Adrian had taken refuge in the study, countless books and papers of the mask piled up and scattered throughout the room. Tired eyes sluggishly read the words in one book, the fingers of one hand nestled in curly locks as it tried to prop his head up. It was late, lord only knows how many hours had ticked away and how much text his sore eyes had read. He wasn't even sure if any of the information was getting into his head, or just sailing from one side of his head clean out the other.

"You are a troublesome one, Jack of Blades." He commented as he looked over to the mask, who did not whisper or hiss a response. It stayed silent, like masks are supposed to. "I'm not even sure you're still in there." He said as he reached over, picking up the mask so again he was staring at the 'face' of what had been an ancient creature. "Maybe you've abandoned this vessel...or gone mad after all of that time trapped. I know after that long, -I'd- certainly go crazy."

"It doesn't help that there isn't too much said about you...besides what my ancestor wrote. I find it disappointing that he attempted to destroy you." Fingers delicately trailed over the painted cheeks, as careful as ever. "He had such a cold heart, consumed by darkness, and yet he still threw you into the lava. I also didn't understand why you didn't just kill his sister, got the sword of Aeons and went from there. Or why my ancestor couldn't just team up with you, given he didn't much care for the Heroes' Guild or his family or any of that...not very fond of my ancestor, honestly." He exhaled softly, pulling a hand away to stifle a yawn. "Look at me. I'm so exhausted I'm rambling to a mask. I think that's as good a signal as any that it's time to go to bed." He carefully set the object down, pushing away from the desk. He turned off the desk light, and waved his fingers towards the mask as he headed towards the door. "'Night, Jack." And with that, he was gone and out of the room.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Whispering.

Logan heard whispering. It wasn't like that of the shades, it was more...human. Or, rather, it was speaking, not just grunting or trilling like the shades. He resisted the urge to investigate at first, but intrigue topped common sense as he left his room, slowly wandering through the halls, following the sound. "What is that?" He breathed out as he continued to head in its direction. As he came to the study doors, it was immensely louder. He looked around, none of the shades that wandered through the corridors seeming to hear it. He pushed the doors open, sliding it closed and stepping inside.

He was momentarily distracted as he glanced around. This was where he had been framed, where Adrian had set the trap to make it seem as though Logan had shot him. The older brother felt he had deserved it. He -should've- chosen to stand by his brother, his kin that had spared him from staring down the barrels of the guns held by a firing squad despite all others saying he should be killed. He was brought from his memories by that incessant whispering. The source was the mask, sitting there upon the table, resting atop its silk wrappings. The black-haired man picked it up, examining it.

_"Logan..."_ It hissed, making dark eyes widen. _"A man who was pushed from the throne in favor of his 'Hero' brother...__now nothing more than a puppet to your brother's whims."_ Despite its words, there was a soft of lull carried in its tone. Calming, hypnotic even. _"It is sad, to see such untapped power fall into a pit so dark and deep."_

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, oblivious to the fact he was now conversing with the artifact in his hands that was -speaking back- to him. "Adrian cares for me, trusts me...what's wrong with that?"

_"He has manipulated you, Logan. He has altered your mind, turning you from a proud, independent man to little more than a mongrel that will heed his every beck and call. There will be a time when you are no longer desired, Logan...and when that occurs, you will be cast aside, like an old, broken toy. You hated him for what he did to you, and look at you now."_

_"I can give you a chance to break away, Logan...I can tap into your raw potential, shape you into something that won't need to be part of the Darkness. Be an individual again...or would you rather stay until you're pushed to the side?"_

"Adrian wouldn't do that to me..."

_"Really? He is planning to have children, and his attention will be consumed with them and the Crawler. What will that leave you?"_ Teeth gnawed on the bottom lip at the thought. It was a worrisome one. _"Put me on, Logan.."_ It was tempting, it really was. But he tried to force himself to place it back down on the table. His arms, however, had another idea of what they wanted to do. They trembled as they fought him, instead moving closer and closer to his face, turning the mask so the underside was facing him. He tried to lean back, move away...and the dark eyes could only stare helplessly as the mask closed in, finally pressing against the skin.

That was the last thing Logan could, and possibly would, ever see. He was severed from his body, consumed as something else overwhelmed the already caged soul inhabiting the body_,_ taking over completely and creating a 'pulse' of energy that silently swept out from the body, rippling out and disappearing into the air. The body buckled to its knees, hands planted on the floor to keep him from face-planting, the weight and need for control foreign after so long. Hands slowly moved from the floor up as he leaned back, unsteadily rising up to his feet. Hands gripped the desk, helping to support him while he grew accustomed to standing.

Golden eyes gleamed out of the dark sockets of the mask as they focused on the door.

_He needed to get out of this castle._

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Somewhere, deep in the earth, within a tomb...the pulse traveled.

It reached in to two stone sarcophagi, moving into the bodies that sat within them, which were untouched by time and decay...and slammed into their stilled hearts.

A loud gasp of air was sucked in in one of the stone coffins, fingerless gauntlets reaching up, fingers with skin of dark grey clutching at crimson fabric over the chest. Air was sucked in, lungs long deprived of what little air was in the sarcophagus. Bells jingled as hands reached up, pushing at the stone. At first it didn't budge, but long forgotten strength flowed through limbs, and finally managed to throw it off, the lid landing intact with a thud nearby. Coughs escaped the being as dust was stirred, and he sluggishly dragged himself out, landing with a less-than-agile thud on the floor. Legs quaked beneath him as he stood, stepping slowly towards the other coffin. He eased the lid to slide off, freeing the other one within. A singular orange eye stared up at him, a cracked mask with simple red markings hiding away whatever face might've been beneath. "Brother...brother he's awake..." The standing figure was breathless.

He wore a brighter colored mask, with gold and pink, blue and purple...large forest-green eyes, similar to one a young person might possess, glowed in the eye sockets. The mask was adorned in open slits that only showed black underneath, some with thick stitching beneath the vents that were curved and made to appear 'smiling'. "He's awake..." He repeated, the long, twin-tailed cap n' bells upon his head ringing as he turned his head, returning to his abandoned coffin to retrieve the objects laying within it.

"How much earth do you think we'll have to plow through to get back up to the surface?" The other figure asked, adjusting the hood of his green clothes, brown leather and the occasional metal littering his frame as he slid over the side, landing on his feet. A bow and a quiver were soon resting on his back, arrows clattering as they suddenly appearing in their container.

"...No idea."

They looked at the hall that led out of the room, which had fallen in on itself and now tons of dirt barred the way. The archer sighed, gripping his sibling's shoulder and looking up towards the ceiling. "Jester, hold on."

"Ace, what are you-" Everything passed by in a blur, dirt moving past, lord knows what lost in its depths...and finally, there was darkness. A different darkness that what was underground. Night. Sky...grass, a breeze. "Wow...it looks alot different then when we were last awake..." The younger male's voice whispered as he took in the sight of everything.

"We need to move, Jester." His sight-seeing was pulled short with a tug to the tails of his bell-collar as he was lifted to his feet and pushed to start moving. Tambourines clattered as they were set to rest upon a buckled belt, and he moved, following the archer as he led on through the changed and almost alien landscape that surrounded them, concealed in the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

The outskirts of the city, the sun only just peeking on the horizon. Buildings and stone paths were being slowly replaced with trees and grass, the buildings in worse condition than the ones within the city. The shades had cleaned them out of people, and the only residents were the occasional rat or garden-variety snake. It was there a figure was crawling into the decrepit remains of a blacksmith building.

The body stopped in it's creeping near the doorway, lurching as sickness suddenly overwhelmed it. The lower half of the mask upon its face split apart, jagged edges of porcelain standing up like 'teeth' for the mask's mouth. Black emptied out of the temporary opening, thick as tar as it pooled upon the earth. When the body ceased in its effort, a few stray coughs were given to force the leftover bile in the throat to leave it, and the mouth vanished into the mask again. It was only then that he moved, carefully avoiding the puddle as he ducked into the building.

So much Darkness tainted this form. It was nauseating, it burned like acid in the veins, and it was all forcing itself into the stomach to be ejected out of the body. "Damnable Darkness..." The low voice hissed, body wracked with faint tremors from the latest bout of 'detoxing'. He chose to collapse in a corner, to recover as well as plan.

Those two, the immortal named 'Adrian' and The Crawler were the ones in charge now. Though much of the time spent wandering away to a safe spot to recover, he -had- noticed a distinct lack of people in great quantities. The few he vaguely remember noticing were quick to scurry back into their holes like rats. They had an army of shades and a large pack of balverines at their command. They had a human adviser...and the two leaders would come to expect children soon. A small part of his mind pondered on just what on earth a child between those two would look like, but it was quickly discarded for more important thoughts.

He wanted this land for himself, not to be subject to the rule of a void monster and the descendent of the Hero who threw him into a lake of lava to lie imprisoned for so many years. To make the two bow down before him, just as the Court had done so long ago to the inhabitants of Albion. But he couldn't necessarily do that alone, as much as he refused to admit. Jack needed the last two members of the Court, the only two besides himself who survived: Ace of Blades, and Jester of Blades. His brothers.

His thought process was interrupted as his body forcefully rejected more of the corrupt shadow saturated in it. After he could sit down and think again, he mulled over what he had learned about the two rulers. The Crawler could be vicious if needed, hated the cold, and was very vulnerable in the matter of his little human lover. He had treated Jack -when first unearthed- with suspicion and wariness. Chances are, he could not be charmed into simply handing things over to him. He was a creature who specialized in fear and scaring, which meant it'd possibly do little good against him unless the right thing was used. Coercion was most likely the way to go with him.

Adrian, on the other hand...he was interesting. Jack had heard of some of the times prior to their takeover during their trip back, and determined he had a black heart to anyone other than those he cared about. To those few who saw the better side of him, he was very warm, easy to get attached to and amusing. His love for the void beast could be used against him, as could the children. He had shown respect and care for his mask, had protected it...perhaps he'd be more capable of being influenced with a few well-placed words. Provided, of course, he wasn't too upset about him stealing his older brother's body.

If all else failed, he could simply use force. But for that, he needed time to rid the toxic substance from his new host body and equipment to wear. Golden eyes glanced down towards said form, narrowing in disgust at the constricting fancy clothes that he was clad in. It wouldn't do at all. So, he needed to wait for Ace and Jester, who would be bringing his old equipment, which had been stored safely away...his old human body might've been destroyed, but the equipment had teleported off to a safe spot.

He was left with only one option: Alter the body and make it suitable for use, make do with what he could pull together and attempt to deal with at least one of the two 'lords'.

Which made him look around the old blacksmith shop he was in now, eyes glimmering faintly as he saw pieces of armor and weaponry lying about. "Let's see what I can do with all of this..."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Where's Logan?"

It was afternoon now, and Adrian had yet to see his older brother. Alluna just helplessly held her hands up in an unknowing gesture. "I'm not sure, sir. I've asked around, the shades say they haven't seen him since last night."

"It's not like him to just...wander away."

"Perhaps he's taking a break. I mean, we -did- leave him in charge of things for over a century. Wouldn't you want a bit of a vacation after that long?" The female adviser pointed out, and the purple-haired man kind of slowed to a stop, sighing slightly.

"Yeah, but wouldn't he say something?"

"Not if he thought you were going to pile more duties on him." It was a valid point, one that made him nod softly in understanding. A soft hand fell onto his shoulder, gripping it reassuringly. "Don't worry, Adrian. I'm sure he'll be fine. Just relax...The Crawler has something he wants to show you." That certainly got his attention. "He's in the dungeon. He told me through that little mind-communication thing, I didn't actually see him, but he did want me to send you his way once you were done worrying about your brother's whereabouts."

She watched as he became the horned shade, scurrying towards the dungeons, quicker than would be possible in his mere mortal form. She turned her attention to more pressing matters at the sound of a loud creak and familiar clanking sound. "Children! I better not see you guys swinging on the chandelier again!"

...

Adrian was soon clicking along the ceiling of the castle's bowels, humming a soft little tune as he released his grip on the stone and fell to the floor. Large magma wings fluttered and twitched as he looked through the cells. It wasn't very hard to find him, though he had to do a double-take into the cell he had nestled himself in.

The Crawler was sitting against the wall, curled up between two large masses. They were black and circular, coated in fluid similar to the liquid Darkness. Veins branched all across them, visibly pulsing purple. Black tendrils clung to the walls and floors, keeping them secured into place. The void monster was currently leaning against one of them, looking drained of energy and under the weather. Black eyes sluggishly opened and rolled to look at the being standing in the doorway. "Hello, Adrian..."

The long tail flicked as he took a few tentative steps forward, coming closer and eying the strange masses as he lowered onto his knees, clawed hands stretching outwards to touch one of the bony cheeks. "Hi, Crawler. How are you feeling?"

"...Tired. Ill...mostly tired." He didn't seem concerned, though. Skeletal arms reached out, pulling the dark figure closer to himself, curling around him as he was hugged against his ribbed chest. "Don't worry about us, it's just a side-effect." He took a hold of one of the hands, guiding it to rest against the side of one of the circular things. Adrian could feel it pulsing underneath his fingertips...and the faintest of squirming underneath the membrane. Green eyes slowly trailed up to the man, wide and filled with surprise. "Are these what I think they are?"

"Mm-hmm." The ancient being groggily replied, mouth curved in a faint grin. "Eggs. We used the material from last night's little before-bed activities," Pink faintly shimmered on the black skin of the shade form. "And made these..."

"Dare I ask -how- you made them?"

"You probably don't want to know." The old King decided not to press the issue, figuring it was best if he didn't know.

"When are they going to be ready?"

"If all goes well...and we mean if -everything- goes well...then a month or so." He placed his own hand on the other egg sac, patting it softly. "We will have to stay down here for most of that time, keep them safe and cared for." The mortal seemed a little disappointed by that, but his curiosity was still peaked by the objects.

"Well, then I'll make sure -you- stay safe and are cared for." Green horns butted lightly against the larger creature's forehead, equally colored eyes shining as they looked into the center set of ebony eyes. "I wouldn't want my dear Crawler croaking, right? Do you need anything?"

"Hmm..." His mate hummed in slight laughter, tilting his head to press the sharpened teeth against the forehead in a faint 'kiss'. "A blanket, a little food and your company are all we request."

"Alright. I'll be right back. I hope Alluna can handle things for a little while."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Where the fuck are we?"

Dark-grey skinned fingers gripped the newly 'acquired' map, ignoring the blood that was splattered across one of the corners, twisting it and turning it to try and make sense of the symbols written upon it. "Do you see any distinguishable landmarks?"

A single orange eye flicked to scan the surrounding environment, looking over the vast, freezing landscape. "There's a mountain." Leather and metal gauntlets reached out, snatching the map away and looking over it, turning it to look over it correctly. After a bit of studying, Ace spoke. "Archon's Folly is a few miles ahead of us, due east. Which means we need to head south-east, towards the coast...and then we dart across to the mainland."

"We need an alternate mode of transportation. It'll take forever if we move on foot, with magic or not." Jester pointed out, glaring at him for a moment for snatching the map before he glanced upwards towards the trees, hearing the chirping of birds. Eyes narrowed impishly. "I'll be right back." He clawed his way up into the large pine-tree nearest to them. Ace just simply tucked the map away, waiting patiently. The sound of shifting in the limbs of the trees were heard, the twitter of birds...and then two pained squawks.

The brow of the only eye of the archer's mask almost seemed to raise as he heard the commotion, and leaped back as two large beasts suddenly seemed to come out of the tree's woodwork, dropping onto the ground with heavy thuds. The fool was quick to follow, jumping off the limbs and landing with an acrobatic roll and twirl. "Ta-dah." Two birds had been -mutated-, was the easiest way of describing them. What had been two brown-feathered little songbirds were now as large as horses, with mottled wings and streaked chests and bodies adjusted to carry humanoid creatures. Their necks were lengthened, with decent sized skulls with long sharp beaks and fiery red eyes. Large raptor like feet clawed at the ground before they bowed, huge feathered wings spread to allow the two masked beings to sit upon their backs.

The normally quiet older figure watched the two creatures for a moment before he stepped forward, hand pushing against the shoulder-blades as he slung a leg over to sit upon the back. "Seems like you have your uses after all, Fool of the Court."

"You never can say anything nice without throwing in an insult, can you?" He wasn't given an answer. The tails of the jester cap, and the belled neck adornment, jingled as he pulled himself up onto the other bird-creature. Black and red cords appeared, wrapping around its head and stretching back to a loop to offer some method of control over them. Ace did the same, kicking the creature in the sides to get it moving into a starting run, an actual -run- and not the strange hop that birds typically possessed. The curled points of the jester's metal shoes pinched at his own bird's sides, forcing it to follow after his sibling.

"How long do you think it'll take to get there now?"

"A week, maybe more." He was silent whenever the younger sibling tried to say anything else to pass the time until they could weave out into a clearing they could take off from. Eventually, the jester had to sigh out.

"You're a boring traveling companion. I'll be happy to see Jack again."

"Why, so you can be told to shut up by two people?"

"You shut up, you arrow-slinging bastard."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two weeks since Logan had disappeared. It had only been 13 and a half days since Adrian had realized the mask of Jack of Blades was missing. When he couldn't find Logan in the vast mental connection of those with the 'Darkness' in their systems, it wasn't too hard to put two and two together. He didn't, however, tell the Crawler about what was going on. The poor creature was still weak and with all of the stress of caring for the potential children-to-be, Adrian felt like the last thing he needed to do was dump more stress on him. He hadn't heard anything about Jack causing trouble anywhere, he checked in frequently through the mental-link with the many shades scattered about Albion.

"Alluna, could you check up on the Crawler for me? Make sure he's doing alright?" He asked, and the woman lifted her head, nodding.

"Of course, sir. Might I ask what you're planning on doing?"

"I'm going to visit my parents."

...

...

Fingers slid over the sarcophagus he stood by, staring down at it. He could forget all of the worries, all of the stress, if even for a little while, just by sitting there with his parents...even if they were deceased. He had no doubt they'd probably be most disappointed if they could see what he had done. But, the thoughts of life before either he or Logan had to worry about the throne and the kingdom brought him some sense of peace.

"Having some family time?"

It was an unrecognized voice, and it made the man quickly turn, hissing sharply, baring inhuman teeth. The sight that met him was shocking, to say the least. Golden eyes stared at him, gleaming with amusement. That ornate mask...the body had rusted steel armor covering parts of it, while ragged crimson fabric concealed the rest. The faintest strands of long hair, which was white at the tips and slowly fading to grey and to black, poked out of the hood here and there. "...Jack?"

"In the flesh." There was an elegant bow given, before he straightened up and walked closer, watching as the hero stepped back until he was at one end of a sarcophagus and Jack was at the other. The ancient being stood, metal clawed fingers sliding over the lid of the ornate tomb. "Or, more accurately...in your brother's flesh." Just as expected, Adrian responded not-so-well to that. Just as he was about to lunge over the coffin, he slowly wagged his finger in a scolding manner. "Mm-mm-mm...I -might- just decide to permanently erase your brother from this body." The lord froze, and if Jack could, he would've smirked. "He's still in here...a small part of him, miniscule really...but he -is- still in here." It made the man before him relax...a little. There was still tension stiffening his muscles, still on alert.

"So what is it you want, Jack?"

"Now that is a question." His arms folded behind his back as he began to step around the coffin. "What is it you think I want?"

"Albion."

"Finally, a hero with some degree of intelligence." He was standing within arm's length right now. But Adrian could almost sense that Jack couldn't really harm him right now. There were no weapons, and the ever-faint sway showed he wasn't at full strength. "But Albion isn't all that I want. It's current...condition makes it less desirable than it was so long ago. After all, the point of power is to rule over people, and it's rather hard to do that when there aren't many people."

"Well, what else do you want?" Adrian asked, and flinched as he felt cool metal claws atop the fingers of gauntlets brush over the edge of his jaw.

"Why don't I start with saying I want to thank you." Adrian gave a 'wha...?' and the masked figure chuckled, golden eyes gleaming. "You showed me and my mask such care not too long ago. Protected, cared...made sure not a crack nor speck of dust graced my mask...even spoke to me. It is rather refreshing, to feel such care." The words, or rather, the way they were spoken...Adrian inwardly cursed as he felt his face start to heat up.

"I was being nice."

"Ah, but why? Your heart beats blackened bile for everyone but those in your little circle of friends...why was I an exception?" He was given no answer, and instead, asked another question. "Why did you dig me up in the first place?" That look, one that mimicked a deer caught in headlights, upon Adrian's face combined with the flushed skin made it hard to resist laughing.

"I-I...was curious." Adrian spoke softly, picking his words carefully. "I used to hear stories of you when I was young...while other children would've been frightened, I was fascinated. I used to stay awake, or sneak out of the castle, hoping that perhaps you were still haunting the world and I could catch a glimpse of you. I was devastated when my brother told me my ancestor destroyed you." Jack hadn't even blinked once during the time he was talking, slitted pupils just staring at him as he continued to speak. Adrian didn't even seem to notice. "So, when I found all the information about what happened and where you had been...'disposed of', I wanted to see if perhaps you had managed to survive, somehow."

"Finding me was a dream come true to you." Adrian looked off to the side, avoiding the man's gaze, until Jack grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look at him. There was silence exchanged between them, before the man moved, weakly trying to push the older being away.

"Crawler would have a fit if..."

"If what?" Suddenly he was pulled close, chest to chest, nose faintly brushing against the smooth bump of a 'nose' upon the mask. "...I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing." His voice was soft, but dripping with temptation. Adrian fought with excuses and tried to pry himself out of his grasp...but he made the mistake of looking directly into those amber eyes. They were hypnotizing, filled with darkness and evil that would've normally frightened any other being, and age...but they were captivating...

"Perhaps...he wouldn't mind..." He mumbled, under the subtle art of 'hypnosis'. Well, this was -much- easier than Jack thought it would be with this one. He just had to keep him baited...make sure the suggestions planted into the mind were lost by some sort of realization that it wasn't right.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"How are you doing, Crawler, dear?" Alluna asked, a tray of food set down and a blanket pulled off of her arm.

"We've been better." The woman nodded, moving to wrap the cloth around the creature before sitting down to rest beside him, and one of the eggs. "How are you?"

"I'm alright." She rested her hand upon the egg-sac beside her, feeling the creature within squirm. "How are the little ones?"

"Still alive, as far as we can tell..." Long fingers gripped the tray and pulled it closer, snagging a roll and tearing it apart, swallowing the bread as though he hadn't even in months. "Where is Adrian?"

"Visiting his parents in their tomb. With his brother missing and everything, I thought it best to let him have some time to himself with them for awhile." She dusted herself off, before resting her hands in her lap idly. "He's been pretty upset about that."

"We can understand. Logan's gone, the mask of Jack of Blades vanished...on top of the fact Jack is possibly using Logan as a host...it is difficult to imagine how upset he is." The spiky head leaned back, resting against the wall after swallowing the last of the bread, holding a cup of tea now. "We feel bad."

"Aw, don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault." She reached out, taking one of the bony hands and holding it in both of her own reassuringly. "As far as I know, Jack hasn't made any moves. He's just been hiding...perhaps that'll be what he does...or goes away and causes trouble somewhere far away from here." She patted the hand. "Besides, Adrian always looks forward to coming down here and visiting you. It's one of the few times I actually see him happy with all the stuff going on."

"Really?"

"Yes. He does love you, very much...and he's very excited about becoming a father, too." Alluna laughed. "He's been counting down the days, hoping that everything goes alright..." That made the Crawler grin at the thought of Adrian, bouncing around, eager for the next few remaining weeks to go by.

"We just hope we can give that to him." He murmured, carefully rubbing the side of one of the eggs.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Where in the name of the Void are we?"

An orange eye briefly lifted from examining the map in hand, to glare at the disgruntled jester beside him before he resumed staring at the parchment. "According to the map, we are in a place that is...or was...Oakfield." He brushed by one of the bird-beasts. The exhausted bird-creature mounts had been sleeping for awhile now beside them, with stomachs filled with fresh water and food. He rolled it up, tucking it away in his quiver.

"So, how long till we get there?" Jester inquired.

"A day...maybe two." With the birds, at least. If they went on foot, it'd be longer. Jester seemed content enough with that, and nodded.

"Well, then. Best to get a move on soon, huh Ace?" He asked, jingling and clanking as usual. Gods, he was noisy. Ace just glared again, and hit the side of his own ride with the back of his hand, startling it awake. Jester was a tad more kind to his own, choosing to gently coax it awake. "Wonder how Jack is doing...-what- he's doing." He pondered aloud, and was just about to say something else when he heard a howl. It cut through the afternoon sky like a sword through a bandit, and he quickly looked towards his sibling. "Balverines aren't supposed to be out in the afternoon, right?" A wordless nod was given in reply.

But, sure enough, hulking forms were soon seen off in the distance, closing in, weaving through trees and other forest obstacles. Ace pulled out his bow, two arrows set and aimed, and released. They both whizzed through the air in different directions, but both hit their mark, lodging themselves within the wolf-beasts' skulls and sending them to the ground in an instant, dead within moments. More arrows were readied and fired, picking off the creatures from a distance.

But one managed to have avoided his gaze, managed to get close. Just as it was about to lunge, Jester seemed to appear out of thin air, flipping and landing on its back, gripping the thick hairs upon its neck as it belted out a snarl and tried to remove the nuisance from its back. One of the bladed tambourines came into one of the gauntlet-clad hands, and as the balverine lifted up its head, about to howl to call in more of the beasts while still trying to pry him off of its back...that was when the youngest of the Blades struck.

The howl never came, only bloody gurgles and wheezes as the multiple blades of the instrument-turned-weapon sliced through its neck, blood spilling out and pooling on the ground. Just as it was collapsing, the merrymaker murderer gracefully flipped off of him, landing on his feet and flicking the tambourine off to remove the blood upon it. "Messy, messy...such a bad doggy." He scolded towards the now lifeless corpse. They were in the clear, for now.

"We need to move." The archer stated, bow in its rightful place upon his back as he climbed up onto the bird-monster. The fool nodded, running over and quickly finding himself on his own creature. They took to the air again, heading straight in the direction of their destination: Bowerstone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait, guys! I had to take a bit of a hiatus, just to make sure I didn't end up getting burnt out on the Fable story before I could finish it. This chapter is a bit short, but I hope to get back into the groove and making longer chapters soon.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian sat, alone, in the tub of water, curled up amongst the sea of bubbles that surrounded him. This tub seemed entirely too big when he was by himself. He scrubbed a the porcelain white skin, making red bloom along it as he scrubbed too hard. He felt he needed to scrub that hard to make the scent of dust, rotting wood, moss and metal go away.

He was worried. Worried about the Crawler, what he would say...what he would do if he found out that he submitted to the temptation Jack had given. They hadn't anything much, admittedly. After all, being in the same room as one's dead parents tended to limit what one would be comfortable doing. But he still gave in, he still let Jack get in and touch him in ways that should've been reserved only for the Crawler. The horrible masked figure had left him hot and bothered with the promise that he'd be visiting very soon.

The thought made a shiver run down Adrian's spine, cheeks flushing the same color as his rubbed-raw body. "He's inhabiting the body of my brother, this should not be happening..." And yet, that didn't seem to quell anything. In fact, it made it more enticing. Jack was the embodiment of sin, so..._forbidden..._

"Not helping!" He scolded himself, resuming his harsh cleaning until he felt he had washed away any trace of the encounter with Jack, and stepped out of the water, wincing as he dried himself and pulled clean clothes on. The tub was drained, the clothes put away to be grabbed and cleaned later, and he stepped out. He breathed out a trembling sigh, readying himself. If he could fool a whole nation into thinking he was their hero, then he could lie to the Crawler.

He gnawed on his lip as he made his way down into the bowels of the castle, pausing as he finally came to the area the other had settled down into. The Crawler was sleeping, it seemed. He looked so physically exhausted. The man stepped quietly across the cold stone, and lowered down to sit with the creature. His arms moved, gently wrapping around the hulking frame, his head moving to hide away in the fur coat. The Crawler shifted a little at the contact, skeletal limbs stretching out to coil around him, and two of the black eyes slid open enough to peer down at him. "Adrian...are you alright?"

It took a moment for him to respond, but tilted head so his eyes were visible, gazing back up at the coal-black orbs. "Yeah...I was just...visiting my parents and...I was remembering all the times I had with Logan and..." He was hushed by a soothing 'Shh', long claws finding their way into his hair, beginning to rake through it gently.

"It is hard for you, losing your brother like this, we understand. It is heartbreaking, to know that a being is using your brother's body, trapping him...perhaps erasing him.." The low voice whispered as he leaned back, dragging the man with him so that he laid on the floor, with Adrian resting atop him. "But don't let that sadness consume you. Depression is a winding path to go down, and it is hard to find your way back once you go down it." He was perfectly unaware of anything else that had occurred. Adrian seemed to forget it himself as he laid there upon the beast's chest.

"You're right..." The human mumbled, cheek resting against the chest and eyes closed. "How are you and the little ones doing?" He changed the subject, hoping that perhaps it'd be easier to talk about.

"We are alive, though very very tired...and they are doing fine, from what we can tell. But things can go wrong so fast...we are not counting our blessings yet." The eyes spared a look to the throbbing, squirming eggsacs on either side of them, before they closed. "Stay with us while we sleep, Adrian?" He pleaded quietly. Adrian smiled, nuzzling the chest.

"Yes, I'll stay. Get some sleep, dear." It didn't take but a few minutes before the void monster drifted off, rumbling breaths leaving him. Adrian just watched him, continuing to smile...until that smile turned into a weak, forced grin that made him tuck his face away again.

He hoped that the Devil didn't come knocking at his door again anytime soon.

o0o0o0o0o0o

It was dark. The sky was a blanket of black, with nothing but the glimmer of stars and the glow of the moon to offer light.

It was the perfect cover for two feathered beasts and their riders to swoop down from the heavens, and into the outskirts of the town once known as Bowerstone. The creatures were strong enough to make their way into the ruins of one of the houses before they collapsed from exhaustion. They were fed, and then settled.

Their riders left them be, abandoning them in the house for now as they set off to find their brother. The only thing that gave away their position was the faint jingle of bells from Jester. Not that it mattered. No balverines or shades patrolled this area.

After a few checks in houses, they found what they were looking for.

Seated upon an old armchair, leaning against the corner of it with one leg hooked around of of the arms and looking particularly comfortable, was Jack of Blades.

"Hello, brothers dearest." He greeted, the deep voice practically purring out the words. "It took you long enough. What made the trip so long?" He inquired, an elbow resting against the arm of the chair, gauntlet-clad hand cupping the side of his masked face.

"We had to cover alot of ground!" Jester said in exasperation, plopping down on the couch, which had definitely seen better days. Dust was thrown into the air at the contact, and he coughed a bit. Ace just rolled his eye, stepping over and sitting. "We got attacked by balverines on our way here. What is that about?"

"The two rulers have an army of balverines and shades at their beck-and-call." Jack stated matter-of-factly. "The Crawler is responsible for the shades...and from what I gathered from Adrian while I was still a mere mask, he made a deal with a fellow named 'Reaver'." He shrugged. "But that's not important."

"Then what is important?"

"Adrian is susceptible to my charms, and the Crawler is weak while he is taking care of his eggs."

"So, what? You screw the prince guy, get him under control and we off the Crawler?" Jester asked, earning a smack to the back of his head from Ace. "Ow! Dick..." He hissed, green eyes glaring at the one-eyed archer.

"No, my plan is not quite as...blunt and painfully obvious." Jack sighed, golden eyes gazing at the younger siblings. "There's no reason to kill anyone, yet. We simply need to have Adrian under our control, and either do the same to the Crawler...or remove him from the picture."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Simple. Emotional warfare." Jester looked confused, and Ace seemed indifferent as always. "Think about it. If I were, to say, get caught with Adrian in a compromising position by the Crawler...the beast would be emotionally distraught, and there would be a shatter of trust, and definite heartbreak. While he and Adrian are trying to work things out, and failing miserably, you two can offer the final blow of destroying the eggs. It'd break the Crawler completely, make him believe it was Adrian's fault, and essentially turn him against him and leave, bitter and cold-hearted."

"And what about Adrian?"

"Adrian will be devastated, of course. He'd look for comfort, someone to cling to..."

"Which would be you...and that would mean you'd take over."

"Exactly. Nice to know your brain hasn't completely rotted away while you were slumbering." Jack's eyes shone, practically showing his smirk.

"Hey!" Jester snorted, crossing his arms in a pout. He was ignored though, and Ace instead pointed out.

"How will we get past the shades and balverines?"

"Use your powers, be stealthy...which means you'd have to hush your bells, Jester." Jack shot him a look, before returning his gaze to Ace. "I'm sure you two can do it."

"Wait a minute." Jester said, hands moving in a 'time-out' gesture. "I just have one question...or two."

"What is it?" Jack said, mild annoyance flitting in his voice.

"You're inhabiting this 'Adrian' guy's brother's body, right?"

"Yes."

"...and you're planning on seducing him, right?"

"Again, yes."

"I thought so." Jester said, quiet for only a moment before he added. "Ewww! Jack, that is just so wrong on so many levels." He gave a small, undignified 'meep' as the eldest brother was mere inches away from him, two fingers pinching his chin.

"I don't remember hearing you complain about anything before I was tossed into a pit of lava.." Jack hissed in an amused tone, and would've been smirking as wide as the Chesire Cat if he had a visible mouth at the moment. Jester stammered a bit, and managed to yank himself out of his grip, looking away.

"That's different."

"Not by much, it isn't. Now, get me my armor you brought. I'd rather not have to wear this rusted piece of crap any longer." Jack leaned back, pointed towards the doorway. The green-eyed man whined a little before he stood up, jingling as he exited.

Ace watched quietly, waiting until he wsa out of earshot before speaking. "You sure have a way of shutting him up."

"I do, don't I?" Jack cocked his head slightly to the side, arms folding against his chest. "But that's what the eldest brother is supposed to do. Make his siblings shut up and do what they're supposed to."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: This chapter will have sex, and it will start rather early in the chapter. There will also be noncon/mention of torture. You have been warned!**

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian had spent most of his time with the Crawler the following week, offering him near constant attention and companionship. He was doing it for more than spending time with the void monster, although that was as significant a reason as any. He was minimizing the chances he could think about Jack or possibly get a visit from him. He was trying his damnedest to be faithful to the leader of the Darkness, and if that meant he was stuck down in the dungeon caring for him, then so be it.

He left his company for a little bit, just enough to retrieve another blanket and a book from the study. He was alone, since the shades and balverines were out playing their usual weekly game of hide-and-seek with Alluna as a 'referee' of sorts. He didn't think it'd hurt to be out on his own for just a few minutes.

He was wrong.

"Employing cowardly tactics, I see." Adrian froze, a chill running up his spine. His head turned slowly to look over his shoulder, to see the masked being standing there, leaning against the now closed doors. "Have you been afaid I'd show back up?"

"Get out, Jack." Golden eyes seemed to blink in slight surprise as Adrian looked away, focusing back on reading the spines of books and trying to pick one to bring back to the Crawler.

"'Get out'?"

"Yes. You have no business being here. Go bother someone else." Oh, now this wouldn't do. Jack stepped forward, away from the doors and towards the man.

"Aw, now why are you acting so icy, dear Adrian?" He rested his hand on the pale man's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off and swatted away.

"Because you are not welcome, Jack. What happened last time was a mistake, one I don't intend to repeat. I belong to the Crawler, and I intend to remain faithful." Jack was thankful for not having a mouth at the moment, otherwise he would've been scowling.

"Tch, but what's the fun in that?" He grabbed the shoulder and sharply spun the younger figure until he was facing him. He was pushed against the bookcase, pinned by one of the clawed metal gauntlets while the other swept down the side of his face, halting at the edge of his jaw. "Come now, wouldn't you like a taste of something you aren't supposed to have?" His voice was quiet, but it held just as much temptation as it did the last visit. "The Crawler wouldn't -have- to know...besides, I didn't get the chance to fully thank you the last time, due to where we were then." He purred, a single finger sliding up the jaw and moving so the point pricked the skin just underneath the chin. "You're a dark-hearted being, you have broken rules before...so why not do it again?" He was so close, Adrian could feel the cool metal wrapped around Jack's torso pressing against his chest, bodies practically flush against one another. He swallowed thickly as his eyes darted, not looking him directly in the eyes, and instead he turned his head away, looking off to the side.

"Because, the Crawler i-is different...and I'm going to have a family with him soon-"

"Then isn't that all the more reason to do what you can before you're stuck in such a commitment?" That was what made Adrian look up at him, and that was when he was ensnared by those golden orbs. He tried to force himself to look away, to break it...he fought though, trying to make excuses, trying to tell Jack no. It was good. Jack liked a fight.

"Come on, Adrian. Don't resist...sin a little, let me drag you into temptation...you won't be sorry." Until his plan came to fruition, that was. The hand that pushed him against the bookcase slid down, unbuttoning the violet shirt as it went down, pulled the belt loose and-

"Ah!" Adrian gasped, and bit his lip, arms reaching out and resting against Jack's chest, though they couldn't seem to summon up the strength to push him away. Jack inwardly smirked, hand continuing to grind the leather-covered palm between the King of Albion's legs, while the other dipped down to push the shirt off and have it land on the floor, giving the hand free access to explore the snowy-white skin. Weak groans left the captive man, crimson painting his cheeks as he shook his head, curly purple hair sweeping with him. "Please..." He began, trying to tell him to stop. But the words couldn't stumble their way past his lips, instead only replaced by ragged gasps or groans.

"'Please' what, Adrian?" The older figure leaned forward, the lower portion of the mask splitting apart into the 'mouth' with razor sharp porcelain shards for teeth. Hot breath ghosted over the green-eyed man's neck, a long, forked tongue flicking out and brushing over the skin and leaving a trail of saliva in its wake. "J-Jack..." Adrian shuddered, eyes sliding closed...only to snap open with a cry as those jagged needle like shards sunk into his neck. Blood quickly flowed out, even more so when the teeth were pulled free. The tongue captured the little droplets as they dripped, and he heard a whimper from his violet haired captive as he tilted his head, exposing more of that slender neck of his. That was the sign Jack had been looking for. Adrian had submitted.

Well, now for the really fun part.

His hand abandoned its attention between the other's thighs, and instead reached around and hook an arm behind Adrian, lifting him up off of the ground, legs coiling around his waist without a second thought. "Good boy." Jack chuckled darkly, forcing the blood-coated tongue past the snowy white lips and temporarily hushing the ruler. But a soft, muffled whimper rolled in the younger immortal's throat as he sucked and licked the thin, pronged appendage, enjoying the distinct metallic flavor of his own blood. He eased forward -as much as he could in the current position-, arms moving to instead wrap around the older being's neck. They tugged off the crimson hood, exposing shoulder-length white hair that faded to black towards the tips, the colors a stark contrast to Jack's colorful appearance. Clawed fingers entwined in the monochromatic locks, mouth swallowing the long appendage as his lips pressed against the 'teeth' of the mask. He didn't care if they cut his lips, that blood dripped down to mingle with saliva. He pulled back, though, as hips were ground against his own. His head tipped back, moan leaving him like a howl from a balverine. He could feel the sharp digits of the free hand press against his chest, a network of welts and scratches left in their wake as they dug in, which made him arch and grind back...he was quite the sinful little leader, Jack noticed.

Clawed hands did not remain idly wrapped around Jack's neck. They ran over the mask, unbuckled the leather belt wrapped around the torso that held the masks of the long-deceased members of the Court. They were placed upon an empty space on a shelf he could reach with the same amount of care that Adrian had shown for Jack's mask, and then his complete attention was returned to the other. He removed whatever he could reach or manage, tossing what armor he could tug off haphazardly off to the side to form a small pile. Whatever skin he managed to reveal was eagerly touched, not caring if it matched his dearest brother's pale skin tone. He didn't -care- about anything besides the need to touch and be touched in return. He didn't even notice when he had been moved, carried over to the desk, barely registering as everything upon it was swept off of it and forced to clatter on the floor. He was laid upon it, the needle teeth finding their way down to his chest, leaving vicious marks to join the menagerie of marks littering his torso. Gauntlets gripped his pants and yanked them off, his boots pulled off in the process and quickly discarded. He was left completely bare, with a half-dressed Jack hovering over him, attacking every inch of skin he could. He had forgotten about the Crawler, forgotten about the unborn children the creature was caring for...all that mattered was this.

He was rolled onto his stomach, his lower half pulled off of the desk to stand while his upper half was still flat against the desk's top. He heard the sound of leather moving, and then felt something very distinct rub against his bare ass. He groaned, claws gripping the edge of the desk in front of him. "Please, Jack..." He pleaded.

"Please what?" Jack leaned over him, heated breaths escaping from the 'mouth' of the mask, like fire upon Adrian's skin. "Please stop?" He earned a shake of the head, and laughed softly. "Then what do you request of me?"

"Fuck me...please." He looked over his shoulder, glowing green eyes staring up at him, pupils contracted and he looked utterly lost.

The jagged opening in the mask managed to twist upwards in a utterly vile looking grin. "As you wish."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It had been thirty minutes.

It didn't take that long to get a blanket and book and come back, did it?

The Crawler had been contemplating whether or not to go and check on Adrian, make sure he was alright. He wrung his hands as he mulled it over, sitting upon the cool stone floor. On one hand, Adrian was perfectly capable of being on his own, he didn't doubt that. But given the fact there were no shades or balverines wandering the halls of the castle right now, then perhaps he had wound up in trouble or injured himself in some manner. The very thought was a rather worrisome one, enough to prompt the creature to stumble up onto his spiked feet. He spared a nervous look towards the sacs, but reassured himself that they would be fine for just a few minutes. With that, he walked with a noticeably hurried pace. It was a struggle to get up the stairs, the weakness in his body from the egg sacs having worn down his body significantly. But he managed to pull himself up to the top, and headed off towards the study.

The first thing he had noticed was the sounds. Now, with the distortion of the echoes in the hallways, they almost sounded painful. Which was what made him try to move even faster...but as he got closer, he noticed that those sounds weren't painful. In fact, they were rather the opposite. Which, of course, raised more concerns and prompted him to move towards the double doors. He hesitantly reached for the handle and eased the door forward just a crack, just enough to peer in.

The sight was more than a little shocking, if not horrifying.

Adrian, pinned to a desk by metal and leather clad hands upon his upper arms, moaning and crying out needfully as the masked being known as Jack leaned over him and slammed his hips against the other set in powerful, harsh thrusts that would've made many others scream out in pain. Onyx eyes watched as Adrian begged, _pleaded _for more, and would be rewarded with an even more punishing rhythm. He answered every hiss of an insult or obscene question spoken from the demon that dominated him...

The sets of eyes that watched them snapped closed painfully tight as Adrian finally cried out the name of the masked being as he came undone, and then a second time as he was filled and the porcelain shards found their way into his neck again.

The door was eased closed again, and spikes tapped quietly against the dark wood and carpet as he walked away. Illness sunk into his stomach, and a sharp ache nestled into his chest as he walked. Arms wrapped around his frame, hugging in a failed attempt of comfort as he faded, opting to teleport back into the dark depths of the dungeon instead of risking falling down the stairs. As soon as he was back down amongst the familiar stone, he moved, sitting and scooting until he could lean against one of the egg sacs, leaning against it and hiding the center face against it. He could feel something leaking out from his eyes, but didn't dare lift his head to look.

He was unaware that off in the study, Jack was grinning like a mad person, knowing he had accomplished part of his plan.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"So when are we supposed to tear apart this egg sac...thingies?" Jester asked from their current hiding spot which was...a broom closet.

"Soon. Jack will give us a signal." Ace replied simply, sitting on a small crate, arms crossed. Jester sighed, leaning against the wall.

"...This sucks."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian returned to the dungeon an hour after he was supposed to, dressed in clothes. "Sorry, Crawler. The Children came and distracted me. But I-" He stopped as he looked at the Crawler. He was quiet, sitting there, staring at the floor with dull eyes. It, of course, caused concern and made him hurry over, dropping onto his knees and setting the stuff he was carrying off to the side. "Crawler? Are you alright?" He reached out to touch one of the bony cheeks, but suddenly found those eyes flare to life.

"Don't touch us."

Adrian's hand stopped short of its target, and he retracted it slowly, frowning. "What? Why? Are you alright?"

"No, we're not." The multiple sets of eyes narrowed, and the purple haired man shrank at the harsh look he was given. "What took you so long?"

"I just said, the Children-"

"Don't lie to us, Adrian." The Crawler reached out with one hand, the skeletal fingers wrapping around the king's throat and pulling him closer. "You were taking a long time, so we went to see if you were alright...imagine what we found you doing?" With this, the younger immortal paled, eyes growing wide. "Oh yes. We looked into the study, to find you...and Jack of Blades. You were willingly being..._tainted_ by him." He spat the words as though they were acid, and it caused the grip to tighten around Adrian's throat. Clawed fingers reached up, trying to pry them loose.

"Crawler, you're...you're hurting me..."

"Oh really? That was our intent. It didn't seem to bother you when _he_ was hurting you."

"Please...it-it was a mistake..." Adrian gasped, whimpering softly. "He came to me awhile...ago and he -gasp- showed up today and I was telling him no and no and..." He sucked in another breath. "I don't know. I looked up at his eyes and...just was suddenly...lost. Disconnected..." It was hard to describe the exact feeling or experience. The Crawler stared at him with harsh eyes, as if deciding what to do with him. "Please. I know I m-made a mistake, and I...take full blame for it. But don't..." He shook his head, not quite sure how exactly to say it.

The void monster watched him in silence for a few moments, before the hand around his throat released him long enough to turn him around, before they tightened around his neck again and he was forced down against the floor. "We are not going to let this just pass by, Adrian. You must be punished for this!" The Crawler roared, lifting himself up onto his knees, quickly pulling down the other's pants, growling at the various claw marks he could see decorating the skin.

"What are you doing?" Adrian said, panicked as he tried to look over his shoulder, but he was held in place by the hand around his throat that briefly cut off his oxygen supply before it loosened again.

"Shut up!" The beast snapped his powerful jaws at him, and shifted forward, gripping his hips with his free hand. "You are _ours_, Adrian. Body, heart and soul...we must erase the traces of that wretched Jack of Blades from you." The man whimpered. "That's right. This is a punishment, not a reward. We will remind you we are not just some tamed beast to be commanded and wanted only when you desire. We command the Darkness...the immortality we gave to you was a gift, a privilege. Our companionship was a gift, which you have shredded and crushed."

The next sound to come from Adrian was a just short of a scream of pain. There was nothing gentle or loving about what the Crawler did to him. There was only agony, a cruel reminder of how vicious the ancient beast could be...and the thing that made it hurt all the more was that the pale man felt he deserved every ounce of it. Claws dove under his shirt, tearing at the skin, going over every scratch or welt and putting his own mark in its place. He blacked out several times just from the hand around his throat tightening and robbing him of the ability to breathe. It dragged on forever, it seemed, before Adrian gave a small sound as his abused insides were filled, and the hulking body above withdrew, leaving him to just collapse against the floor. Tremors ran through the body, green eyes screwed shut as they burned and threatened to spill tears.

"Now...go away." Adrian lifted his head, dazed and having to wait a few moments before the words registered fully. "We need to think...go to your room and stay there." It wasn't a request, it was a demand, from a voice that sounded more like the cruel-hearted being that lurked in the darkness of Shadelight rather than the companion he had grown to care for. The human did not say a word, just silently reached out and grabbed his clothes, pulling them on, biting back pained sounds as cloth came in contact with any of the sores that littered his body. He could feel blood, among other things, trying to leak out as he stood, and just stiffly walked, head held low, looking more like a beaten dog slinking away to lick its wounds. Crimson bled through the clothes he wore as he retreated to his room. He locked the door behind him, and managed to make it over to the bed, falling down upon the mattress and diving under the blankets. He only just managed to steal one of the pillows to hug and bury his face in before he finally broke down, sobbing, screaming, breaking himself apart with such horrible insults...

And, now strolling down the hallways towards his brothers, the Devil himself was laughing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: This chapter is loooong, because I had to cover alot of stuff in it.**

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It had been a few days, and everyone could feel the tension in the air. The Crawler was remaining down in the dungeons, while Adrian kept to his room and refusing to leave. The balverines whined as the thick hair covering their bodies prickled at the crackling electricity of turmoil in the atmosphere. The Children clustered together, like a flock of birds awaiting the flight to their winter homes, and they whispered worriedly amongst each other. They were all concerned.

Alluna had to take on the responsibility of caring for the two rulers. She would carry down food or other supplies for the Crawler, but was rarely acknowledged. When she went to take food up to Adrian, and ask what was going on, she never received an answer. He rarely ever left the bed, he barely uttered a word, and when Alluna returned later, she would find the food that had been left remained untouched. So when she and a few balverines were called down by the Crawler to guard the eggs, she couldn't help but sigh a breath of relief...only hoping that the leader of the Darkness was going to make things better, and not worse.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The soft knock at the door went unacknowledged. As did the creak of the door as it slid open and closed, or the slow, hesitant clicks upon the floor.

Green eyes, robbed of their glowing spark and now just dull and worn, stared blankly at the wall through half-mast lids. The neutral features of the face twitched as a hand rested upon his side, and again as weight shifted onto the mattress behind him. The eyes finally slid closed as arms slowly wrapped around Adrian and pulled him close. "Crawler..." He whispered, feeling the bony ribcage press against his back. He rolled to face him, hiding his face away against the chest, his own arms embracing the larger figure. He suddenly seemed to come to life, sobbing against him, streams of apologies and incomprehensible sentences only interrupted by gasps of air to breathe or hiccups. The Crawler sighed, one of the hands reaching up and entangling in the severely knotted hair, softly hushing him or cooing gentle words. He had to wait until Adrian had settled down enough before he could do anything else. When the crying had lessened to ragged breaths and sniffles, he spoke. "Adrian...it's okay."

Adrian pulled his head back, looking up at the other. "I-I didn't me-mean-" The hand moved out from his hair, and a single finger was placed on his lips, silencing him.

"We know...we have had time to think." The deep black eyes gazed down, sighing. "We were upset when we saw what happened, but...you had said that when you looked at his eyes, you felt disconnected..." He pulled the finger away, giving the other the chance to speak again. "We believe it wasn't entirely your fault."

"But how-"

"Hypnotism..." Adrian went quiet as he stared up at the void monster with these big, blood-shot eyes. "But, we have to give you a chance to fight against it...otherwise these events could occur again, and we would be in the same position then that we are now." He sighed, reaching out and brushing a hand over the pale forehead, before resting a single digit against it. He spoke in a language that Adrian couldn't recognize, the words like ethereal whispers that were imprinted into his mind. The human didn't dare utter a word, in fear of breaking the clear concentration and focus the beast had. The Crawler's eyes soon slid closed as he pulled the hand back, finally done. "There...that should offer you a way to resist."

"Thank you." Adrian whispered, pulling in close again and sighing. "...'m still sorry."

"We know...we know."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Alluna sighed, sitting there beside one of the large sacs, with the balverines settled in front of them in a protective manner. "Just a few more days..." She said, rubbing the pulsing thing by her side. It had nearly been a month, and it was nearly time for them to come out. She was extremely curious as to what the result would be, provided the unborn children came out alive and didn't have any sort of complication. Would they look like humans, with perhaps just the black eyes of the Crawler or his claws? Or would they emerge to look like the void monster, with the violent green eyes or...it hurt her head to think about all of the possibilities.

"I still wonder how in the hell the Crawler made these..." She muttered under the breath, though wasn't quite sure she wanted to know. One of the balverines, with auburn fur and dark skin, eased forward, brushing his large head against the pulsing barrier that Alluna touched. Savio, the name of the large were-beast, seemed to have a 'gift', of sorts. He could sense the health and strength of others, and one could daresay he glimpsed the future and knew if someone would die soon. Perhaps that was the reason why he led the pack, kept it at is strongest...and how his ancestors had done the same.

Whatever the reason, he only paid particular attention to that one, and ignored the other. "Is the other one going to...?" Alluna whispered softly. Chestnut eyes stared back at her in silence, either not understanding or refusing to answer. He eased away after a moment, lifting his head, large ears rotating forward. It was when he, along with the others, started growling that she stood up.

Arrows suddenly whizzed through the air, and two of the hulking were-creatures were lucky enough to inch enough out of the way that it grazed their shoulders instead of embedding themselves in their skulls. Jester suddenly appeared out of thin air, launching onto Savio's back, ready to slit his throat like the last balverine that had met those wretched bladed tambourines. But instead of attempting to howl like the last one, the auburn-furred figure lurched forward, curling up and rolling, slamming the masked jester into the floor. Ace was at the doorway, launching a volley of arrows that the other balverines found difficult to try and avoid. They pierced the thick hides, locking into the shoulders or burying into their thighs. One of them managed to lunge forward just as the earthy colored Blade was reloading, knocking him to the floor. It snarled, baring wickedly sharp teeth and sending spit flying to slap into the cracked mask.

"Fuck, you're ugly." Ace hissed, twisting his body and kicking upwards, hidden blades in the toes of his boots slicing into the balverine's elongated torso, causing it to release him...and he reached back, pulling an arrow free from the quiver and thrusting it upward, the tip piercing the chest and the heart. He rolled to the side before the hulking brute collapsed on him, and leaped up to his feet.

Jester was having a hell of a time. He flipped expertly out of the way of the lashing claws, rolling as they launched at him. One of them tried to bite him, and he jerked his arm, slamming the blades of one of the lethal musical instruments into its skull before it succeeded. He ripped it free, and leaned back as Savio's claws tried to tear into him. "Ace, damn it, kill off those things so we can get out of here!"

Ace nodded, pulling out an arrow. His eye flickered, and the tip of the arrow suddenly was aflame, and shot through the air. Savios tried to intercept it, but failed...and they watched as one of the squishy sacs, the one furthest away from where Alluna had sat just moments before, suddenly burst into flame. They could hear the ear-piercing scream that wailed from it. As much as they wanted to save it, they knew they needed to focus on protecting the other one. As Jester rushed forward to get them out of the way, Alluna readied the large hammer she had pulled from the armory, and swung it...

The sound of breaking porcelain echoed in the air, and Jester skidded back along the floor. Half of his mask had been broken away, jagged pieces of what remained reaching out for the half that was no longer there. Exposed was dark grey skin, the same green eyes visible before...and a mouth with teeth running along its edge, curling into a vicious grin...or, would've. Right now, he scowled. "You bitch!" He snarled, hurling forward and diving as he swung again, rolling and springing back up to slam her into the wall. Savios whined and fell as an arrow found its way into his thigh, forcing him onto his knees. Smoke was clouding the room, making it hard to see...but Ace could see through it.

"No!" Alluna screamed as the second sac went the same way as the first, burning and melting...Jester dropped her quickly, leaping back and scooping up the shattered pieces of his mask before he disappeared into the smoke...and both of the Blades disappeared as quickly as they had come.

Alluna dropped to the floor, watching as the smoke slowly vented out of the small dungeon windows. Savios growled as he reached down, dealing with the blasted piece of wood and metal sticking from his leg. They both looked around, at the dead balverines, and then at the melted, destroyed containers of the eggs...and then at each other.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian and the Crawler had stood up from the bed and were heading out of the room just minutes before the first of the unborn children had been killed. As soon as the fires swept over it, Adrian panicked as the hunched being suddenly buckled over, clutching his chest as though the very air had been knocked from him. He offered Adrian nothing more than a look of pure terror as he straightened up, and yanked him forward at a speed that was impressive even for him. They had just reached the stairs when the second one had occurred. Adrian had to literally catch the larger immortal to prevent him from tumbling down the stairs. Smoke spewed up from the staircase, and the man had to hold him back until the air had cleared enough to safely venture down. They rushed, and froze in their tracks once they hit the final step.

Blood was splattered along the floor, pooling underneath the corpses. Savios was attempting to stand, and Alluna just sat upon the floor, defeat and failure written on her features. The Crawler wobbled forward on unsteady legs, hand to his mouth. He fell harshly upon his knees as he landed in the same spot he had been sitting for close to a month, caring for them. His back was turned to them all...and the devastation fully hit him.

Adrian could feel tears escaping his own eyes, running down the vivid crimson tattoos. "Crawler, I..."

"This is all your fault."

The words stung, like salt in the wounds. "I didn't-"

"You brought him back, Adrian." The Crawler rose up to his feet, turning to stare at the man, hands clenching. "If you hadn't made us go to Archon's Folly, if you hadn't unearthed that damnable mask, none of this would've happened!" He needed to blame someone for this...and Adrian knew he was in the right. If he hadn't found Jack's mask and brought it back, none of the heartache and pain would've occurred.

"You're right." The Crawler seemed to hesitate as Adrian admitted he was right. The pale man sighed. "Jack's going to keep hurting us until he gets what he wants." Alluna and Savios looked between the two of them as they spoke, wisely choosing to remain out of the conversation. "He's taken my brother...he's broken your trust with me...and he's destroyed our hope of a family. He'll just...keep going until we either leave or die."

"Or he dies." The other added, and the violet-haired man just gave a weak, sad smile towards him.

"You saw how well it worked out the last time that was attempted." He stepped forward, his clawed hands taking the larger slender ones into their grasp, and he looked up. "I love you, Crawler...and I have valued your companionship so much over the years...but..." He paused.

"But?"

"I have already caused you so much suffering. I don't want to know I put you through even more...or that I was the reason I find you one morning as a lifeless corpse." His gaze dropped, towards their hands, a trembling sigh leaving him. "I need you to leave."

"What do you mean, Adrian?" There was worry in his voice as he leaned forward, shadow-colored eyes wide.

"I must place one more piece of suffering upon you, Crawler." He pulled his hands back. "What I mean is...this is the end of...us." He gestured between the two of them.

"You can't seriously mean that. We love you, care for you...your burdens are our burdens. We should be here for everything that happens, good or bad." He lowered down so they were exactly eye-to-eye. But Adrian closed his eyes as hands reached back out for his own, stepping back and shaking his head.

"No, Crawler. I mean it. I am grateful for what you have done for me all of these years, what we have shared and been through...but I will not stand by and see you in a moment of pain any longer. I will not put you in the line of fire."

"Adrian..." He didn't want to see the pain he was causing. He could hear it in the raspy voice as it spoke his name, the distinct pleading tone in it for him to reconsider. Each word took so much strength out of him as it was, it was like splitting his heart in two just to make himself say it all. "I expect you and the Children to be out of the castle within 24 hours. If not...I...I will have you removed. I am sorry..."

There was a stunned silence, and the void monster stepped back, head low, hands clasping one another. "...Alright then. If you are set in your decision...then we have no choice but to comply. We will be gone by tomorrow morning." He was going to step around Adrian, but paused at his side and instead coiled his arms around him. After a fleeting second of silence, he whispered. "Thank you for everything you have given us." He reluctantly let go of him, and moved away, fading away to go assemble the Children and get what little belongings he had.

Alluna heard the shaky breath the was sucked in by the King once the other was gone, and stood up, quietly walking over. "You did the hardest thing I think anyone would have to do for the one they loved." She spoke softly, and glazed over sulfur-colored eyes opened and looked up to her, as if for guidance. "What are you going to do about Jack?"

"I...don't know, Alluna. Perhaps I should just...give him what he wants." His arms wrapped around himself in a vain attempt for comfort, and sighed. Just as the brunette haired woman was about to say something, she heard a sound. A low, weak whimper. She turned her head, looking over as Savios crawled closer to the egg sac that he had visited prior to the attack, dagger-clawed fingers carefully nudging the goo to the side. After a moment, he made a small sound towards the both of them and nudged his head in a gesture to come over.

They stepped closer, the man wiping his eyes as he tried to keep himself from tearing up again. What they saw was, really, a miracle.

A little form, about the size of a newborn, was curled up in a ball amongst the burnt remains of the container. It had pale white skin, like Adrian. It had large eyes, which were olive green, and a little mouth with two fangs poking out from his lips. It had a human torso, though it was slender, and its spine protruded, with little curved spikes nestled between a few of the vertebrae. His arms and legs were long and slender, with clawed fingers or two-toed clawed feet. A long, spine-like tail wrapped around him, the sharp curved tip hooked underneath one of his legs. He had small pointed ears, and four curved spikes jutting from his forehead in a 'crown'. Shoulder-length purple hair hung out through the spaces between the horns, or curled up around his neck. Some of his skin was burned, but not to the point where it was fatal, and some of the hair singed...he must've been near the bottom of the protective container when it was set ablaze, limiting his exposure to the flames that ultimately killed his would-be sibling.

Adrian carefully scooped him up, mindful of the burns, and pulled him close to his chest. The little being looked up at him, smiling, showing gums where teeth had yet to develop, and two dual forked tongues flicked out clumsily before retreating back into his mouth. "You are a cute, lucky little bugger, you know that?" The man asked, earning a soft giggle. Despite his pain, the little thing still managed to smile and laugh. Tiny hands reached out, grabbing one of the fingers and pulling it close to gnaw on it. The king cooed softly, smiling...before a sudden thought came to mind that made the grin fade. "He can't stay here."

"What do you mean?" Alluna asked.

"Crawler's leaving and Jack...if he found out one of them were still alive..." It made his hold tighten a noticeable fraction. "I need you to take him."

"Me? And where would I-"

"I have a cabin in Mistpeak you can use..." The woman looked at him as though he were insane. "Please. I ask you to do this for me as a friend." She bit her lip, glancing between him and the boy he held. Eventually, she sighed. "Fine. But on the condition that Savios and a small pack of balverines come with me."

"Deal."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When nightfall came, it was put into action.

Adrian had been kind enough to tell about and show the Crawler the child before the sun had fallen, and the child had been given the name Faustus, which meant 'Lucky'. The child seemed to sweep away all the depression of their soon-to-be separation from each other, leaving only a silent understanding of what was going on in its place. Alluna said her goodbyes, and wished the both of them luck, and hoped that things would work out. "Here's to one day binding Jack or sending him to the pits of hell!"

She crawled up upon the back of the leader balverine, holding onto the leather straps that had been wrapped around him to secure her in place. In her free arm she held the sleeping blanketed bundle against her chest. She spared a final look back to the two leaders, giving a farewell smile that reassured she would keep the child safe, and leaned down as Savios lurched forward. The thick, hooded cloak she wore rippled in the breeze as he ran, with a small number of the were-beasts following him. Both Adrian and the Crawler watched as she was led further and further away, into the remains of Bowerstone...Savios stopped right on the horizon, standing up and giving one last, final howl into the sky, that beckoned those who would remain at the castle to join. Despite it all, Adrian smiled.

"He's going to be alright." He said, turning to look at the other beside him. "There's nobody I trust more than her." The cave-dweller nodded in agreement. "You'll be alright too, Crawler?"

"We think we can manage, though it will be hard." A sigh. "What do you think, 16 years?"

"Yes, 16...maybe 17. I'm sure me, you or Faustus will figure out how to lock Jack up by then, hmm?"

"Right." The older figure leaned back, gazing at the horizon. "This is beginning to sound like one of those 'Hero Ballads' the wretched human bards would sing about in the taverns."

"That it does." Adrian chuckled, shaking his head. He reached out, taking the other's hand into his own. "See you then, you bastard."

"You too, wretched human." Though it meant leaving Adrian at Jack of Blades' mercy -which the Crawler really did not wish-, he hoped what he gave the man would be enough to help keep his grubby little gauntlets off of him.

If he didn't, well...the Crawler was going to enjoy ripping him apart limb from limb when he got back.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"The adviser woman is leaving." Ace said, drawing an arrow and holding it, gazing out from a nearby watch-tower. "Should I-?"

"No." Jack said, holding a hand up to halt the archer. "She is of no use to me. If she feels like abandoning ship with a few of those mongrels, then so be it." The bowstring went lax, and the arrow was tucked away in the quiver again. The crimson-clad Blade stepped, walking away from the window and towards one of the seats, sitting back in it. "Everything is going according to plan. The mistrust has been planted, the eggs destroyed, and the Crawler and his Children are leaving...no doubt Adrian is planning on resigning."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"Tch, of course not. I plan on keeping him around for my entertainment. I could always use a fight now and then..."

"Among other things." Jester pointed out with a slight bitter tone, seated at a table, quietly putting the pieces of his mask together. They fused together, repairing itself as he went.

"Are you still upset because you were smacked in the face with a giant hammer by a girl?" The glare he received was enough of an answer. "Well, she's leaving, so you needn't bother holding a grudge."

"Stupid bitch..." Jester spat under his breath.

"I think tomorrow should be a day of celebration. Perhaps Ace might even be convinced to be in a good mood." The orange eye gave a distinct look towards the eldest brother. "Hmm, hmm, worth a try."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

**Author's Afternotes: To those who are confused about how the Crawler and Adrian end up on good terms near the end, I will say that while they're spending what precious time they have with their child, the Crawler realizes Adrian's plans and why he's sending everyone away. Adrian's more or less acting as a 'sacrificial lamb' and forcing everyone else away to keep Jack from going after them or causing more havoc between them. Crawler's not happy about it but...well, Adrian isn't giving him any choice in the matter.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Shh, sweetheart. It's okay. Auntie Alluna's got you." The woman whispered down towards the whimpering child in her arms as she stepped away from the balverines and towards the lodge, which had withstood the test of time pretty well, considering where it was. It needed a little patching up here and there, but that was manageable.

The door creaked open with a rusty whine, and she peered inside. A bit dusty, but there were no wild animals squatting in the place. The balverines remained outside, too large to fit through the doorway, and she pulled the door closed as she stepped in. The woman dusted off a chair and set the boy down upon it, long enough to grab some of the long-abandoned wood that was still sitting in a neat pile beside the fireplace, using the fire-starting kit she had packed with her to light it. As the fire crackled, she tucked the stuff up on its mantle and turned back to the little half-blood.

Faustus had sat up, still settled in his blanket, but had been watching what she was doing with curious eyes. She smiled, pulling down the hood of her cloak and easing over, crouching down so she was eye-level with him. "Hello. Curious what I was doing?" He giggled, sucking on two of his clawed fingers and reaching out, grabbing her nose in an affectionate gesture. She chuckled softly, picking him up and moving to sit down in the chair, letting him rest in her lap. "Welcome home." Faustus gave a small chirp, moving to curl up against her stomach.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The Hunter's Lodge, nestled deep in Mistpeak, proved to be a good, safe home to raise the child, given its location. Alluna quickly found out that, unlike normal human children, half-blooded hellspawn like Faustus drank blood instead of milk. So, the balverines took turns having a blood sucking little parasite clinging to their arms or settled on their back with his two sharp fangs digging into their skin. He loved to play, and Alluna also quickly discovered that he was mobile after the first couple of days...and absolutely detested the bandages he wore while he healed. More often then not, Alluna would turn to do something and turn around just to find him entangled in the wrappings. He acted like a playful kitten rather than a child, but...Faustus was an adorable little thing. Who despised clothes.

Over time, he learned how to speak, calling the woman who cared for him 'Auntie Alluna' and the named balverine 'Savy', as well as giving the others in the pack their own names. He learned how to read, which made the balverines sometimes travel far to bring back plenty of new books for him with how much he adored new stories. The burns faded with time, leaving nothing but a few faint scars. He grew over the years, learning and playing, always curious about this or that. He went from a little bundle to curl up in your arms, to a trouble-making, gangly child.

Who still despised clothes.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The woman pulled open the door, staring out into the vast, white landscape. "Faustus!" She called out, carefully scanning the fresh snow, piled up into mounds. By the way the balverines were sniffing and digging, they were in the middle of a game of hide and seek. Which, coincidentally, she remembered had been a favorite of Adrian and the Crawler's. "Faustus, come now! Your soup is getting cold!" Her hands were placed upon her hips as she received no answer. She huffed a breath, blowing a strand of brown hair from her eyes. "Olly olly oxen free!"

It was then that one of the piles of snow rumbled, and out from it popped a purple-haired child, who -if not for the hair- would've completely blended into the cold landscape. He squirmed his way out, and proceeded to dropped onto his hands and feet and wiggle, shaking off the frozen white that clung to his skin, wiggling from head to the curved tip of his tail. He bounded forward, coming to a screeching halt only when he ended up in front of the ex-adviser. "Hi Auntie Alluna." He chirped in greeting, eyes closing happily and a trilling noise leaving him. Though it had taken her some time, she had figured out much of the odd collection of noises the little boy produced. The trill he did now was a 'happy greeting'.

"Hello my dear. Where are your pants?"

"Mm...I don't know?"

"Wrong answer." She sighed, stepping aside. "Get in here, before your soup turns into a popsicle." As he trotted in and she followed. "I swear, you have your void father's aversion to pants...thank god you're built like him." Everything that needed to be covered, was naturally tucked away out of view, so there was really no reason for him to wear pants...other than the fact it was cold. But, the cold didn't bother him, which was the polar opposite of the Crawler's opinion on the matter. She shut the door and settled into her seat, watching as he voraciously devoured the contents of his bowl. "Faustus, don't eat too fast or you'll-" A hiccup came just as he finished, prompting him to quickly drop the spoon into the bowl out of surprise. "See? Told you."

He whined, clasping his hands over his mouth, trying to cease the annoying hiccups.

Other than his attempts to rid himself of the disruptive things, the day passed by mostly uneventfully. He went back out to play with the balverines, and stayed out until it was time for bed. He slept in a room separate from the one Alluna stayed in, with a large bed made for a single person, and with a toy box with various types of toys scattered about, and a few shelves of books where the reading material had been crammed in or was piled up in large 'mountains' gracing the tops of the shelves.

He crawled along the ground in quick strides, leaping up and landing on the mattress, and diving underneath the blanket, tail flicking and whipping until he poked his head back out and relaxed. Alluna soon joined him, pulling up the stool beside his bed and sitting down, adjusting the flame of the lantern she carried. She set it down upon the nightstand, dusting off her dress. "So, Faustus, what story do you want to hear tonight? Fairy tale, horror, magic-"

"Actually, Auntie Alluna...I was hoping you might tell me a story about my parents." The woman's blue eyes closed, and she gave a small sound before nodding.

"I suppose I can do that." She then opened her eyes as the boy gave a 'yay!'. "Why don't I tell you about the time your father met your Void father, and how they took over all of Albion?"

"Oh, yes, yes..." Faustus pulled the blanket up to his lips, olive green eyes peering up over the edge at her as he listened while she told him the story.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"You've grown into quite the handsome young man."

Poke. "Ow!"

"Oops, sorry Faustus, dear. Just try to sit still a little longer." The woman glanced up from her work, which was currently fitting the newest piece of clothing for the sixteen year old. He had slowly learned to deal with clothes, although there was very little to what he wore. He had grown into a healthy, slender being. He never did grow into his arms and legs, still just as long as ever. He had, however, grown into his eyes, which had lost their large 'child-like' quality and had narrowed and shrunk to settle more into his facial features. He had a mouth full of pearly white, sharp teeth...and a head full of long, curly purple hair that was now typically tied up in a ponytail. His ears had been pierced, lovely gold hoops -which his Aunt had given him from her jewelry box after they pierced his ears- dangling...

"How much longer?" He winced as another pin pricked him. Despite his young age, his aging had accelerated at some point to where he really did appear to be a young adult. His child-like energy had calmed to a more...reasonable level. But his patience hadn't exactly matured any.

"Just a few more stitches and...hold on, I've got to pull the pins loose...okay, there." She stepped away, allowing him to look into the mirror and see. Out of fabric and other materials the werebeasts had found for her, Alluna had created a skirt that wrapped around one of his legs, and had a smooth shortening to the other side to fully expose the other leg. The skirt had lovely purple, pink and blue patterns, with black and gold running along its edges, which also had little dangling pieces of metal sewn into it to jingle whenever he moved. He did wear a pair of shorts -which had originally been pants until wear and tear to the knees had prompted their shortening- underneath. Around his waist was a simple cloth and leather belt with a silver brooch-turned buckle. His calves were wrapped in leather and fur legwarmers, tufts of fur lining the top and bottom and the leather tied tight. After a moment of admiration, Faustus tackled her in a tight hug.

"Oooh, thank you, Auntie Alluna. Everything looks so wonderful." His tail wagged, though thankfully he restrained it enough to keep from knocking anything over. He received a kiss to his cheek, and he eased back.

"You're welcome, dear." She placed the sewing needles and pins up, and dusted herself off as she turned and resumed packing a traveling bag. "Now, are you sure you want to venture out and start looking for how to deal with Jack of Blades?"

"Yes. My fathers have waited so long, and I don't want to waste another moment that I could devote to saving them." He could see the worry in her features as he looked towards him. She finished placing the various gear and necessities in the bag and closed it, handing it off to him.

"Just...please, be careful." Alluna felt his forehead rest against hers, the taller figure leaning down to accomplish such a move.

"I will be. Don't worry." Faustus reassured, baring his teeth in a grin before he straightened up. "I'll make sure to send a signal when things are taken care of. Until then, stay here, and be safe." He pulled the bag over his shoulder, and was about to head out when he was stopped by a hand grabbing his own. He turned to find her offering a royal blue hooded cloak. It was hers, the very same one she wore the night she took the child away from Bowerstone.

"I don't want you to get sick." His smile softened, and he accepted it, pulling it on so the fabric wrapped around his shoulders and draped behind his back. "Where are you going first?"

"The only place I can think of that might have information about Jack..I'm heading to what was Bower Lake."

"Why?"

He stepped towards the door, and glanced over his shoulder. "That's where the Heroes Guild was."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

16 years...it seemed like alot longer than that. So very, very long.

Or was it less than 16? Or perhaps more? Adrian wasn't sure anymore.

Jack had swooped in and swiftly took everything over as soon as the Crawler and the Children were nowhere to be found. He was not as kind as the previous rulers had been to the remaining humans, and instead had dragged them out and forced them to start being 'useful' by tormenting them for his amusement. Typically by various forms of hard labor, or just torturing them...or watching as his siblings tortured them. He was particularly fond of watching as people were burned alive, as Adrian soon learned.

As for Adrian, he became something of a servant, a playtoy. He was dressed in ridiculously revealing clothes -though have of the time was forced to go without any sort of clothing-, and was stuck caring for the remaining members of the Court of Blades. He'd feed them, polish their armor and clean their clothes...it was quite the drop from being King. The first years, he was stubborn, fighting over everything, even the simplest of tasks. But the years had worn him down, and he grudgingly tolerated the servile role he was stuck in.

The hardest part was when Jack was in a 'mood'. There were two of these that Adrian tried to avoid. Wrath, and Lust. With Wrath, he was the prime candidate for his venting, given the Darkness' ability to heal his wounds quickly. With Lust, it was the one thing he had yet to stop fighting. The Blade only succeeded half of the time, the gift the Crawler had given him helping to thwart the attempts at hypnosis. Failure would make Jack lash out at him and slink away, like a snake who missed its meal. When he succeeded, however...if he was in a particularly good mood, he would offer the man up to share with his other siblings. Ace would occasionally take up the offer...but Jester never did.

Jester. He really was the wild card out of the trio. Adrian observed the three brothers when they interacted with each other. Jester was the youngest, and he was the one that was bullied. He didn't seem to have the same ruthless 'evil' the other two had. More of a malign mischievousness. He had to fight to get what he wanted, and almost seemed to strive for ways to seek the older siblings' approval and respect more than anything else. Adrian was used as a different form of venting with him.

He would just...talk. He'd pull Adrian off to his room, sit him down, and just pour out every single frustration he had with Jack and Ace, every ounce of irritation, all of the questions he had about what to do or how to deal with it...half of the time he'd even have something close to a depressive spiral, which Adrian would manage to drag him out of time and time again. He'd thank Adrian, and tell him not to say anything to either of the others...he was probably the kindest of the three.

Adrian lifted his head, listening to another one of these 'therapy sessions', only adding to the train of speech with an occasional question or reply. Otherwise, he remained silent, and just simply sighed under his breath, knowing he'd remain there for at least another hour...and he wondered where his son was, what he was doing, how he looked...

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

In the familiar network of caves in Aurora, the Crawler and his Children had returned after they had left the castle. The Crawler, knowing he'd most likely go mad if he simply waited through those years, saved his sanity by falling into something akin to a hibernation. If someone had seen him, they really would've thought he was dead. Rare was the beat of a heart or the rise and fall of a chest throughout the long slumber...

The winged shades circled him, huddling close, creating a wall of black that kept the freezing cold of nightfall away from him. They kept close, falling into their own, half-asleep like trances throughout the years.

A long, drawn out sigh finally left the jagged mouth, and black eyes slid open, staring at the cave roof. "It...is time." He breathed out, propping himself to sit up while the heart raced to reawaken and supply blood to the body that had long been settled in a 'death slumber'. The Children seemed to come to life as soon as he moved, wings fluttering and rows of red eyes piercing the darkness.

"Let's go see how much Jack has screwed up Albion while we've been away."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes: Well, since I've starting making art for this story, I thought I'd share with everyone****. I have four pieces, though I currently only have one finished. The finished one is technically three pictures, showing Faustus as an infant, child, and a young adult. http(colon slashslash) renamon1457(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d4lpk7n I did forget the jingles for his skirt, and I'll make sure to edit it and add those.  
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o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Claws scraped along stone, jolting the body to a stop, before the powerful, slender legs crouched down and tensed...and then launched off of the ground, shooting into the sky with a mighty leap. Long legs stretched out as the ground came close, landing once more and pushing off of the ground again. The cloak fluttered and whipped in the air, the long tail ridged. Faustus had learned this mode of transportation from his balverine friends, and thankfully had the legs to pull off such a means a travel. Despite the thin, fragile appearance of the limbs, they were extremely tough and durable, and they could store power in them like a wound up spring. The hybrid could also run really fast, which was what he was doing when there were too many trees to leap into the air. His long legs allowed a long, graceful stride...and the way he moved was reminiscent of one of the old scythe-clawed giant lizards that used to roam the lands so long ago...at least, according to the books he had read.

He had been traveling for days, now. He'd stop and sleep in areas that were safe...basements of abandoned houses, in the thick undergrowth or in hollowed out logs. Places that were hard to reach or out of the way, that offered shelter and a way to remain out of the eye of any who'd find him otherwise. Besides, the dank smell of basements, the rot of logs or the various scents of plant life concealed his own scent. Jack had control of the balverines that had stayed behind, and Adrian knew from his survival lessons how deadly they could be, when he watched prey meet their ends at the claws and teeth on the werebeasts. It was another reason why he preferred leaping over running. There were less scent markers left behind, and he wasn't able to be tracked near as easily. Right now, though, the rain that pelted him was making his traveling harder.

Faustus finally slowed as he came to his destination. Bower Lake, or...Bower Pits, as it had been called. It had been drained of its water back then, and instead of natural beauty there was only ugliness. Hulking giants of metal and smog had long since stood silent and without their black breath billowing into the sky, rusting and gradually having fallen apart over the century. But nature had taken it back throughout the years, murky water filling it up so that only the tips of cranes and machinery were visible. He skidded down the wall of rock, hopping down to the bottom and diving into the water, swimming down and entering the dark, long-abandoned mineshafts without an ounce of reluctance. Olive eyes flickered in the darkness, a sudden glow sparking in them as he ventured further in. He could see fine in the darkness, no doubt a benefit from his Void father. It was like walking into a well-lit room, regardless of whether there was any actual light in the space, or if it was complete and utter darkness. As it was now. As if they had anticipated flooding, the entry tunnel rose up, and he dragged himself up to dry land again.

He breathed in deep as he looked down the various tunnels, slithering off in every direction around him. He couldn't waste time just trying every route possible and seeing where it ended up, hoping that perhaps they might've found the Heroes' Guild by accident. It would be too time consuming...so...

His eyes closed, putting his hands close near his chest and focusing. Blue and green crept down his arms, escaping his fingertips and forming into a shape. He threw it forward as it finished, releasing it. He looked up towards it. "Show me to the Heroes' Guild." He commanded. The magical entity, which was in the shape of a large Luna Moth, glowed as it fluttered. After a pause, it began heading down one of the tunnels, rising and falling in the air. Faustus stepped forward, walking behind it. He was always on the look out for nasties that had taken up residence in the mine...the worst he seemed to encounter were bats, and the occasional territorial rat. The latter of which he dealt with via the sharp, sickle-like stinger atop his tail, which was reminiscent of a scorpion's.

The half-blood lifted his head as the he came to a wall after what seemed like hours, and the moth settled upon the stone with a flutter of its wings. "Its behind there?" He was given a flickering light in response, a 'yes'. After looking around, he found one of the pickaxes, preserved from its time down in the dry, dark tunnels. He picked it up, readying it. The moth flew out of the way just as the sharp blade pierced the rock, chipping through. The move was repeated again and again, slowly wearing down the surface...until finally, the axe hit air.

After the opening was widened enough to allow him inside, he slid in, the moth landing on one of his horns. "Show me to the knowledge I seek." There was another pause, before it floated away, taking the lead once again. Clawed feet stepped over decaying books, each step shifting through dirt and sand. "To think, one of my ancestors was part of this guild so long ago...and another walked the very tunnels I do now." It made a grin play upon his lips, sharp canines poking out from the pale lips. The moth offered no words in reply, just continuing to lead him towards his destination. He was very thankful for his slender form, and his ability to dislocate limbs or flatten down, allowing him to get into areas others would've seen as inaccessible. It was another long trip before the narrow tunnels opened into a large cavern. Books were everywhere, in dilapidated shelves. He reached back, wringing out the waterlogged cloak as he walked, gazing at the shelves at he passed. Eventually, his insect guide stopped at a particular shelf, and landed, stretching its wings out to gesture to the books that rested upon the rotting shelf. Faustus reached out, grabbing the books and glancing through them before tucking them into his leather satchel, making sure it was resealed and buckled, keeping any water from damaging what it carried. "Alright, now to get out of here." As his clawed foot landed, he heard a cracking sound. It had been raining for several hours now, and the water had undoubtedly risen outside. Now, it was putting pressure against the walls of the mines...and he could hear the cracking and groaning of stone that made him panic. "Show me the quickest way out of here."

The insect flew as quick as it could, wings flapping frantically with the half-blood rushing behind him. A rumbling roar of rock as it broke and fell was heard, heard by the deafening roar of water as it rushed in. It took some quick moves to avoid being crushed, wincing as smaller rocks beat at his skin, leaving bloody gashes in their wake. But he leaped and sprinted...and could see the light of the opening. So...so close...

Until the ceiling shattered, and rocks threw him forward, and water swept him down in such a force. He struggled to cling to any of the stone he could manage, but the water wouldn't allow him and he was dragged, briefly bobbing up to the surface for air before pulled back down under the surface of the water. He was pushed out of the opening leading to the outside world, that much he was aware of...but that was the last thing he remembered before a harsh blow to the head by one of the jagged rocks sent him spiraling into unconsciousness, at the mercy of the water that dragged him away.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Adrian lifted his head, feeling an uncomfortable pinching feeling in the back of his skull. It provoked a sense of worry, though he wasn't quite sure why. He knew he hadn't felt it before...

Before he could try to place what it was, he was shaken out of it by a sharp sting to his cheek, which made him hiss sharply and turn his head away. One of his eyes cracked open as he looked up. "I don't believe I told you to stop, Adrian." Came that wretched voice of the eldest sibling. Adrian's lips twitched, tempted to bare his fangs in a snarl...but knew it'd only earn him more pain. So he sighed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his cheek, knowing that red was blooming where metal upon the back of the gauntlet had connected to skin.

"I apologize, sir." He lowered his head, resuming his work of polishing the metal adorning the demon's frame. He sat on his knees, between Jack's legs, working on the armor covering the torso. The castle was chilled, and he was trying to quell the shivering that wracked his form. He was only wearing a simple pair of shorts, which did little to keep him warm. It was one of the reasons he had moved close to Jack, to try and siphon warmth from him. But the cloth, leather and armor that he wore trapped heat and allowed little of it to leak out. But there was -just- enough that kept Adrian willingly close.

...The purple-haired man missed the Crawler. He wouldn't be stuck, freezing and forced to clean while the other was around. He could get the chance to go sit somewhere, and curl up with him, and leech that wonderful warmth that radiated from him.

The cloth was moved over the metal plating wrapped around the legs, making sure to go over everything...and when he was finally finished, he looked up. "Mm, well done, as always. But, you missed a spot." One of the brows quirked upwards, until he followed the hand as it gestured downwards. Instantly his venomous green eyes gained the one bit of spark they had left in them. "No."

The creak of the throne was heard as Jack eased forward, fingers wrapping around the man's neck. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He forced him to look into his eyes, and they had a silent stare off. An attempt to make Adrian submit, and an attempt to resist Jack...and after a few fleeting moments, Adrian opened his mouth. "...No." He could practically see the masked being scowl, and muffled a yelp as he was hit again. Just as a third strike was about to come, Jack was stopped as Ace opened the doors of the throne room. "What is it, Ace?"

"Balverines up have reported the scent of an unknown being traveling...they found it near Brightwall Academy and have been attempting to track it. So far, they've determined its heading our way."

"And?"

"They report that it smells like a Void monster." Jack straightened, thinking.

"Hmm...well then, this must be investigated. Dump Adrian with Jester, and meet up with the pack in the East, see if you can determine what exactly this thing is. If you determine it's hostile, kill it. If the balverines are mistaken, then kill them."

The archer nodded, moving over and grabbing the pale man by the hair, hearing him whimper as he was forced up to his feet, and then was pushed forward, making him walk ahead. The ex-king was pushed into Jester's room, falling on the floor as he was thrown off balance, and the door shut behind him.

He could hear the ringing of bells, and the clunk of curved metal boots. "Adrian...Adrian, come on, get up." He felt a hand shake his shoulder, and managed to pull him up onto his feet long enough to bring him over to the bed and let him lay down. A cloth was pressed to his head, where blood had began to trickle out from the harsh pull of his hair earlier. Adrian looked up at him silently for a moment, before leaning against the hand resting against his head appreciatively. He pulled the blanket up over him, huddling into the cloth, shivering now at full force. Jester just sighed, sitting cross-legged upon the mattress. "Is that thing they're looking for something of yours?" Eyes darted to look up at him again.

"I can be silent and stealthy when I want to be..." Adrian just shook his head, tucking his face away in the blanket. "Well, you better hope whatever it is is alright...there's rather nasty flooding going on in the east of Albion."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Shhh..." The Crawler hissed softly, watching the mouth of the cave from the safety of the darkness. They had moved, managing to get to Albion...and had found temporary shelter in one of the cave systems. But they could not chance an encounter with balverines. Despite having had them as allies and friends before, one could not trust they'd still be so loyal now. Thus, he was lost to the shadows, transparent and dark like the shades, all of whom kept their eyes closed to prevent the beasts from trying to venture in further.

They sniffed and clawed at the ground, analyzing everything. But the leader eventually snarled and barked, and they stepped away from the mouth of the cavern, turning away and leaping, moving to return back to their temporarily abandoned patrol route.

After they were a safe distance away, the Crawler finally breathed a sigh of relief, which the Children echoed. "As dangerous as walking through the Auroran desert...I'd rather take the sand furies..."


	9. Chapter 9

Darkness.

Complete and utter darkness.

He could hear something...a murmur. Garbled and incomprehensible. He could feel something, like nudges as the words grew louder and clear. Finally, his eyes opened, only to quickly shut again with a groan.

"Ah, there ya are! I was beginnin' to think you weren't goin' to make it, mate!" That was an incredibly strange accent. Pain bloomed in his skull, that throbbed painfully every time he even considered moving his head. "Now, now, ya' just take it easssy. Almost went belly-up asss it wasss, don't wanna go headin' to death'sss door again ssso soon, aye?" The accent had just gotten even stranger, when the 's' sounds were dragged out into hisses.

Faustus convinced his eyes to crack open just enough to see where he was, and who was talking to him. His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the room, which was simply daylight streaming through the portions of windows that hadn't been boarded up. He was in what appeared to be an old Hunter's cabin, the kind you'd find out in the middle of a forest where hunters would stay until they had enough of a catch to bring back to town. "...W...What happened?" His voice was soft and weak, exhaustion clear in it. "How long have I been out?" He could feel bandages wrapped around his chest, head and left arm as he laid there.

"Well, I was out huntin', flood waters chasing all the prey up and all, and I found ya on the floating out in the water, hung up in tree branches. I fished ya out, found you were still breathin', and brought ya here to fix ya up. As for how long...I'd say 'bout four days."

"Four days?" He jerked up into an upright position for a mere moment, only to yelp and collapse back onto the mattress.

"Oi, careful now! You're pretty battered up, so just settle down and at least take the time to wake up and get reoriented." Olive green eyes finally moved to look at the man at the edge of the bed. He was tan, with muscular arms and a decently defined chest. He had the face of a rouge, with the mischievous smile and hairless face and blue eyes that stared at him. There was a mane of long, spiky, shaggy brown and clay-red hair that reached to his shoulders, a few braids settled in the mess clattering together and a band of cloth wrapped around his forehead and tied off to the side. He wore a green cloak that wrapped around his shoulders and cuffed around his neck. His chest was bare, and he wore a belt with several pouches and tools placed upon it, and brown pants.

Or, at least, Faustus _thought_ they were pants. Until the man 'stood up'...and then he realized it wasn't pants...it was a _tail._

"Holy fuck!" He rarely ever used language, but they stumbled out before he could think, and quickly rolled from the bed just to slam against the floor with a pained yelp.

There was an annoyed sigh from the other man, who moved around the bed, picking the paler one up off of the ground. "Settle down."

"What _are_ you?"

"I could same about you." The man chuckled, and reared up to show the young man. Attached to his waist was a long, dark-brown scaled tail, with larger -and smoother- lighter brown scales running down the underbelly. Decorating the back of the tail were darker brown and cram colored diamonds, and the very tip of it ended with a strange looking appendage. "Well, for your info, I'm a Naga."

"A What-a?"

"A Naga. Half human, half snake. What are you, exactly?" Blue eyes looked him over, a brow quirking.

"Half-blood human and Void monster." He heard a hum in response as he was laid down upon the bed again. "What's your name?"

"Iskal. You?"

"Faustus."

Iskal grinned, baring four long and sharp canines, and a bunch of other sharp teeth. "Well, Faustus, might I say you are definitely a lucky bugger, me finding you when I did. Otherwise I can't say you'd have gotten the chance to wake up." Faustus realized, at that moment, his personal possessions had been stripped from him, leaving him completely bare. Iskal seemed to notice the panic, and he was quick to quell his fears. "It's alright, don't start panicking. I brought everything when I carried ya here, and have let it all dry. See, it's all right over there?" He pointed. The green eyes turned, making sure everything was accounted for. Leggings, cloak, skirt, belt, bag, earrings...indeed, everything was there. "Now, do you feel up for eatin'? Made a lil' something, if you feel you can...see if you can scoot up a bit." He slithered along the wood floor, moving to the lit fireplace, plucking one of the bowls off of the shelves nearby. Faustus winced, but eased himself up to a sitting position, using the pillow to prop him up. His head was still swimming from the change in position, but it gradually died down.

A bowl was soon handed over to him, and its contents swallowed with the hunger brought out from days of sleep without any sustenance during all of that time. He was given a few more bowls, and Iskal just ate his own single bowl silently. A forked tongue flicked out as Faustus slowed in his eating, and he looked to make sure he was alright. "Thank you..." It was quiet, but it was a thank you none the less.

"Ah, you're welcome." The bowls were soon taken and set to the side, and he eased forward. "Now, we have t' pull the bandages off and clean the wounds, 'kay? You took some nasty wounds on your lil' floatin' trip." He just nodded, allowing the naga to unravel the wrappings and take a wet cloth to them, wiping them down with a certain amount of gentleness he did not expect. Then they were wrapped again. "There. You'll be righ' as rain in a few days, I'm guessin'. Everything's already looking a hell of a lot better." The naga's black claws brushed away a few strands of the young man's violet hair, tucking it behind his ear.

"B-But I need to get to Bowerstone as soon as possible!" He was pushed back down onto the bed by strong hands, and he just sighed helplessly as he stared up at the reptile-tailed being. "My parents need me."

"I can understand...but you're not in the condition to go anywhere. You can hardly sit up, much less stand. You'll not be helpin' anyone in the state you are in now." Iskal was right. His body was sore and stiff, and throbbed with an aching pain. If he attempted to travel now, he'd only succeed in injuring himself further. "Now, try to get some more rest, aye? I'll be here.." He reassured. Faustus gave a soft smile, his fed and tired body already beginning to tug him down into sleep before he even thought of slumbering. Iskal sighed, a soft hiss rolling from his lips. "Let's hope you don' have anyone else lookin' for you."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The balverines were lost.

They had lost the scent in Millfields. The water had swept away the trail, and whatever had left it behind in the first place. The large werebeasts had scattered, checking the area to see if perhaps they could find anything to point out where they could've gone. Ace watched them with his single eye, the orange iris glowing within its socket. As one came over towards him, he reached behind him, grabbing an arrow and slamming it into the beast's skull, killing it instantly. With a sickening crack, he forced the arrow deeper as it collapsed on the ground, and lifted his head to gaze at the rest of the balverines that now gave their undivided attention to him. "I want this thing found, and I want it found now! If you do not find this Void Monster's trail soon, I will make sure an arrow is planted into each of your damn skulls!" His voice boomed, deep and decidedly demonic.

It was enough to cause the creatures to scramble. It took only ten minutes before one of them barked, and they centered their attention in that direction...and a ways down the flood waters, they found another marker..."Finally." Ace growled under his breath, before moving to follow the creatures.

They finally had their trail back.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Jack had been leaving him alone, thankfully. He was busy torturing people and dealing with everything else, and had basically outright given him to Jester as his own 'plaything' to keep. Apparently, he was starting to lose interest in Adrian. Which the pale man was just fine with.

Besides, Jester was a better 'master' to serve. He wasn't forced to cook or clean, the youngest of the blades would ask him if he could do this or that, or if not, then ask him to show him how to do it correctly so he could do it himself. He gave Adrian actual clothes to wear, never forced him into any form of sexual contact...he had a warm bed to sleep in and actual food to eat...it was like paradise, after his servitude to Jack of Blades.

"Are you sure you're one of them?" He asked as he laid there in the bed, dressed in a silk robe and laying upside-down, stretched out along its length. "One of the Blades, I mean. You act so...different from them."

"Hmm..." The cap's bells jingled as he sat in a chair nearby, polishing his tambourines. "I was always called the oddball out of the Court. I'm the Fool, the mischief maker, the one who makes people laugh and...and I guess everyone else took all the 'evil' and didn't leave me much to go on." He shrugged helplessly.

"Well, I think you're the best one, between you and your brothers. Sweet, funny, considerate...and a bit shy." He chuckled, stretching his arms over his head. Jester seemed to look away, embarrassed as he set his weapons upon the table, standing up and moving to collapse onto the bed beside the other.

"Well, I'm glad you think so." He said, green eyes staring up at the ceiling. He had placed an enchantment on the ceiling to make it look like the sky, so it mimicked the blanket of stars extremely well. His hands rested upon his chest, dark fingers entwining together. "How long is it going to be until the Crawler comes back?"

"I...don't know. Why?" Adrian turned his head to look at the other beside him.

"N...no reason." Adrian lifted an eyebrow, and rolled onto his stomach, squirming over to him. He rested his head upon the fool's chest, venomous green eyes staring at him, as if through him and looking for the real reason.

"Do you care for me, Jester?" The question startled him enough to make the other give a whine and send the Blade into a coughing fit.

"No! No! Well, as a friend, perhaps but..." He paused as a hand rested on his own, and lifted his head to look at the other.

He eased over, moving Jester's arms so they wrapped around him, though the far older figure beneath him retained the pose awkwardly.

"He's going to come and kill me."

"The Crawler? No, he's not."

"Yes he is, and then I'm placing full blame on you..."

Adrian sighed, closing his eyes. "Just shut up and hold me for awhile. It's been sixteen years, and the least you or anyone besides Jack and Ace can do for me is give me a hug." Jester just remained still, though his head fell back against the mattress. "And I'm not asking you -to- care...just saying the option is available." The ex-king mumbled, and seemed to fall asleep after a few long moments. Jester just sighed, mumbling weakly.

"I need to quit being nice."


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes: To those wondering, Iskal's accent is Australian. It's very difficult to write accents. .**

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Though Faustus was, for the most part, bedridden for the time he was in Iskal's company, it didn't quiet his curiosity any. He was always asking the strange reptilian man about where he was from, what it was like, if he had family, and various others that he bombarded him with. But the naga took them in stride, answering what he was able to. He wasn't all that bad...sure, he said he had done some 'unsavory' things in his life...but Faustus couldn't really argue over the fact he was being cared for. His wounds had been cleaned and bandaged with the utmost care, he was given food or water when wanted, was given the naga's very bed to sleep in...

Faustus' eyes opened to see that it had become night once again, and the temperature had dropped to freezing once again. Not even the flame in the fireplace seemed to be able to chase it away, and the bitter cold crept its way into the building. He rolled to look at Iskal, finding him curled upon the floor amidst the large coils of his tail, shivering slightly from his spot near the fireplace. Faustus eased up into a sitting position, glancing between the blanket he was curled up in and the half-serpent. He pulled himself out of bed, gingerly making his way over. His skirt -which he had since worn after the first day just for comfort- clattered and jingled softly with each step, until he ended up by him. With some difficulty, he pulled the behemoth tail enough to open up a space that allowed him to settle within the ring of scales and muscle. They rippled as he settled, and slithered to coil loosely around him. He gave an incredible amount of heat, a blessing courtesy of his Void father. He spread the blanket out, draping it over them both, hearing Iskal sigh pleasantly, the shivers finally slowing to a halt.

With a smile, Faustus fell back asleep, wrapped in the gentle grip of the snake tail.

...

...

...

Faustus was jerked awake by pounding at the door. Iskal was already up, and the half-asleep void monster could barely comprehend what he was saying as his gear was pulled on or thrown in his arms. "Mate, you need to get out o' here. We got trouble knockin' at the door, an' I'm pretty sure they're looking for you." The severity of the situation hit the half-breed as he fully awoke, and tugged on his things as he followed the man to the nightstand, watching as he pulled it aside and revealed a trapdoor. "Get o' of here, and do what you have to do..best of luck to ya." He kept his voice quiet, so as not to alert those outside.

"You too. Thank you for everything, Iskal. I hope we meet again."

"Oh, I've no doubt about that...now get in there." The pale figure dove into the opening, and it was quickly shut and the nightstand returned over it. "Hold on, hold on, I'm coming! Bloody hell." The naga hissed as the rapping on the door continued, and grabbed a pot of mud and plants -scent hider for when needed- and dumped its contents on the floor, using his tail to smear it along the floor. Given where he lived and what he did, it actually wouldn't be all that surprising to see. He dumped the blanket back on the bed, throwing a pelt over it to mask any scent of his guest. He circled and moved to the door, opening it. "G'day...now, what is it? I mean, blimey, pounding on my door like it's done somethin' to ya..."

He was met with the sight of a masked man dressed in leather and green, with a group of balverines backing him up. Oh yes, this had definitely reached the 'Red alert' stage now. "We are looking for an individual who may pose a threat to certain beings in higher power. We have tracked it close to your home, and I am required to ask if you have seen it."

"Ah...well, aye, I did. I was huntin', flood waters made excellent opportunity, and saw a strange looking bloke floating in th' water. He was pretty beat up, and I went closer to 'ave a look at him, and see if he had anything on 'im I could remove from his person. Well, he wakes up, starts freakin' out and shoots through that way." He pointed to the north. "Arm didn't look too good, but 'e showed me his legs worked fine. I didn't bother goin' after him, figured he probably died out there...tha's all I can say." The naga shrugged, putting on quite the poker face, one that rivaled the mask's set expression.

"I see." The single eye looked him up and down, as if judging whether he was lying or not. One of the hulking brutes behind him moved forward, sniffing in the building. A hand smacked its nose, and resulted in a threatening growl towards the naga. The balverine then lifted his head, giving a single bark towards the archer, telling him that the naga himself smelled like the being they had been tracking. One could practically see the cracks that trailed up the mask curl into a smirk, and he pointed towards Iskal. "Grab him. We're taking him back with us."

"What? Like hell you are-" There was a sharp crack, and the naga collapsed into a heap on the ground, forced into unconsciousness. The werebeasts grabbed him, lifting him up off of the ground and beginning to drag him. "One of you, search the cabin and see if you can figure out where this thing is. If you do, follow it if you are able. You and you, we are returning to Bowerstone Castle. The rest of you, spread out and keep your ears up and your eyes open!"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

There was a tunnel that had led away from the cabin underneath the nightstand. Faustus had crawled his way through the claustrophobic space, listening as the commotion within the cabin faded and was replaced with a deathly silence. Small wooden and metal supports held up the earth on either side of him as he squeezed through. It seemed like forever until light finally shone throughout the darkness, and he pulled himself out through the opening. Green eyes flicked around, trying to get a sense of direction, where he was...it seemed as though he was in a swamp of some sort. Though the water was rank with the smell of sewage. "Oh gods..." He said, reeling back from the stench, pinching his nose as he dragged himself up onto the nearby ledge, and leaped up into one of the trees. He climbed up its rotting limbs, reaching the top and peering out over the bare tree limbs to look around. He appeared to be in Mourningwood. "That means I'm close." If he could just shoot right to the castle, or somewhere nearby it that was safe...

His body was already aching, but he didn't pause as he tightened the strap of his satchel and crouched, leaping up into the air with a powerful jump, moving from tree to tree, avoiding the putrid waters completely. He didn't much care for the thought of stepping barefoot through ancient sewage. "So...gross..." He breathed out as he hopped. It was horrible, he just wished he could remove his nose for the time he had to travel through it. Thankfully, he was free from the swamp and in the clear again before too long, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He kept up running and leaping until the sun was hidden away, and he could see Bowerstone on the horizon...but even though he could see in the darkness, his bright coloring was a curse that made him stand out like a sore thumb. He ducked into a cavern system after making sure a bear or other nasty beast wasn't inhabiting it, and curled up by the rocks, sighing. He read through the pages of the book he had been carrying in his bag, reading through what he needed to do to bind Jack and imprison him. He nodded off a few times...and eventually fell asleep, sitting upright and slumped forward a bit, hand hanging and the book resting on his legs, remaining opened on the very last page.

What he failed to notice was the countless pairs of glimmering red eyes that suddenly lit up the darkness, and out from the shadows left quiet, clicking footfalls as a figure loomed over him. They crouched down, and spindly fingers reached out, gently brushing over the young man's cheek. He flinched, but remained asleep, seeming to relax at the touch. Something about the touch felt...comforting. The being eased down to sit by them, fingers gently combing through the tangled knots within the hair, raking through the locks soothingly.

"He grew up to be beautiful..." Came the low whisper, eyes as black as the darkness around them gazing at the pale figure, a softened expression playing on jagged features. Faustus' countless companions guarded him through the night, and as the sun gleamed on the horizon, the half-blood's eyes groggily slid open. There were no crimson eyes hovering in the blanket of black within the cave, nor a figure beside him. He was alone...and in a way, he felt disappointed, though he knew not why. But he pushed the feeling aside, looking down and reading the last bits of the book before tucking it away again, long legs lifting him upright. He took off out of the cave, hoping to catch a small meal on his way to the castle. He didn't notice that his shadow seemed a bit different...that he was in fact carrying someone else with him. They did nothing, for now. Not a word uttered or action taken...they'd wait, and observe.

And, as the people of Albion knew, the Crawler definitely had the ability to wait and watch what happened.


	11. Chapter 11

This was going to be difficult. And Faustus had already figured it was going to be pretty damn difficult to begin with. He had been scouting around the exterior of the castle for days, carefully watching the patterns of things as well as looking for ways to enter the building. The balverines were swarming the castle, and Jack had recently upped the security by summoning his own wolfish minions. Both were easy to hear coming, though, by the unmistakeable heavy footfalls of the werebeasts and the clanking armor of the Minions.

Faustus had safely determined his best bet was to crawl through one of the dungeon's windows. Its bars had rusted off, and though many would never stand a chance of managing through the narrow space, the young man could contort enough to worm his way in.

The night he had everything he needed, he made his move. He crawled over the walls, waiting until the patrols left a large enough gap to let him sprint past, and duck into the gnarled bushes near the dungeon's windows. His bag was quietly lowered in first, and with some difficulty, pulled himself into the building, crawling down the wall and landing without a noise. After making sure everything was in place, he picked up his bag, and slunk to the shadows as he heard things going on in the cell adjacent to his own.

"Now, are you going to tell us where this creature is, or am I going to have to take the whip to you again?"

"Rack off, y' dickhead. I ain' telling you anything. No amount of pain or repeatin' yourself is gonn' make me change my mind. They've gone walkabout...that means 'they're gone, can't be found'." It was Iskal, Faustus could recognize that crazy accent anywhere. He winced as he heard a crack of leather ripping through the air and contacting skin, and the yell that escaped the naga. It was repeated over and over again, and it made the half-blood close his eyes in repulsion. It halted, and trembling pants echoed. "No go...I'll cark it before I tell y' a single thing I haven't already."

"Hmm...well, you'll get plenty of chance to. You see, -I'm- the one running things, you overgrown reptile, and I will make sure this being is caught...and when they are, I will take great pleasure in breaking both of your heads off of your wretched necks." That must've been Jack of Blades, then. He heard a final crack and whimper before he heard the clank of metal steps against stone, the creak of the cell door, and listened as the steps faded away as they headed upstairs. Faustus waited carefully, and when he was sure the coast was clear, he hurried free from his open cell, and stopped at the locked door, standing up and peering through the bars.

Iskal was stripped of everything but the headband in his hair, his arms chained to the wall and his tail wrapped and locked within the binds of chains. They chafed at the scales, leaving bloodied sores, and his back and the length of his tail was decorated in various overlapping lashes. "Oh, Iskal..." He whispered, blue eyes lifting up to look at him. A worn smile stretched across his features.

"G'day, Faustus. Nice t' see you made it out alright." He noticed the olive eyes were currently studying the door, and how to open it. "You're goin' to need the key...'less you can pick locks." It was then that the sharp-ended tail curled close, popping into the keyhole and twisting. A few agonizing minutes passed before a faint click was heard, and the door swung open. "Well, I'll be damned." The naga chuckled as the boy rushed over, working on undoing his binds. Some of them weren't meant to be opened, by their lack of keyholes. Their chains were either broken, or an acidic concoction was spat from the half-blood's mouth that burnt clean through them. Iskal rubbed his wrists as his arms were freed, and sighed in relief. "Thanks, mate. Don't know how much longer I could've held out."

"I'm so sorry I got you into this mess, Iskal-"

"Nah, it's alright. Trouble has a way of finding me, regardless of what I do. Whatever you're goin' to do, I'd suggest doin' it."

"Are you going to be alright?" The half-serpent just gave a lopsided smile, shrugging.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go do what you gotta, and listen. If you're going after tha' ratbag Jack, make sure to crack his skull a bit for me, alright?"

Faustus just chuckled and nodded, and with one final glance towards the man, turned and took off up the stairs.

Iskal glanced down at himself, and then at his surroundings. "Absolutely ripper spot you got yourself into, Iskal." He mumbled under his breath, and slithered forward. "Now, where'd that masked arse put my things?"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

He followed the scent trail, long legs stretching out as he hurried to catch Jack of Blades while he was alone. He came to a screeching halt, however, as he entered the throne room...only to have the doors shut and locked behind him. He whipped around to glance at the doors, and then turned back towards the direction of the throne to find the red and metal clad demon sitting there, sharp metal fingertips clicking against the armrests. "You really do fall for traps too easily. Might want to work on that." The deep voice pointed out, feline like eyes staring at him unblinkingly.

"Shit." Faustus hissed under his breath as Minions appeared in the room, several of them flanking either side of Jack. They were stopped before attacking him, and Jack stared at him for a few moments. "Wait a minute..." He snapped his fingers. The youngest Blade appeared, with Adrian clinging to his side in shock at the sudden teleportation. The amber eyes flicked between Adrian, and then Faustus...and after a moment, he shook his head.

"Jester, I though you said you killed their children!" It was not so much a shout of outrage, but with a bite of irritation as well as amusement.

"W-we did. Watched them burn and everything."

"Oh, then how do you explain this?" A finger was pointed towards Faustus, who took an uneasy step back at the mention. "If ever there was anything more obvious than what stands before us now...he looks like the spitting image of Adrian there, and the Crawler." Olive eyes looked towards the man mentioned, and Adrian just gave a worried look towards him, and then towards the Minions within the room.

"I've come to stop you, Jack, and put my parents back in charge, like they're supposed to be."

"Oh, are you? The little boy is trying to take on the Boogeyman?...Let's see if you can live through these, first." The fingers snapped again, and Faustus found the armored beasts charging towards him. He waited for just the right moment, and leaped up, twisting and using a hand placed upon one of their skulls to flip over them. His tail whipped, sinking the hooked stinger on its end into one of them, while he leaped out of the way of blades as they sliced through the air near him. He was seriously going to have to thank the Balverines for teaching him self-defense, if he made it out of this.

His claws ripped at their armor, magical shards of ice or flames of fire spitting at them. He had an advantage over them, his body lean and his moves quick, much more so than their slow and clunky maneuvers. They got their shots in when he wasn't paying attention, but they were small nicks or cuts to add to the set he already had. They were dealt with quickly, their bodies teleporting away...and Jack sat there, mildly impressed.

"So, now what are you going to do, half-blood? Stab me in the heart? Throw my mask in lava?" Those yellow eyes suddenly held panic in them as the book was pulled out of Faustus' bag, and opened. More of those beasts were summoned as Faustus began to read the text aloud. Just as he was about to attack, suddenly other figures appeared in the room, and promptly proceeded to swarm Jack's 'security'. They were the familiar Children, the black shades launching at the Minions like a swarm of angry bees protecting their hive. Jester did not step in to aid his brother, keeping Adrian out of the way of the commotion and happening to occasionally 'trip' one of the armored creatures if they happened too close. It was when Ace appeared that things went dangerous...and for a few fleeting moments, time seemed to slow down as Jester took in the entire scene around him.

Ace was just about to put an arrow in Faustus' head when he was tackled to the floor, sending the arrow to embed itself in the wood of the door just a few inches from the boy's head. "Jester, what the hell are you doing-?" Ace's exclamation was quickly cut off with a fist against his skull. With Jester busy, Adrian chose to get into the fight as well, the long-restrained shadow form taking over him as he clung to the back of one of the Minions and clawing at whatever he could reach. More of them were brought in to replace those who were downed, and it was just pure chaos.

Faustus was speaking the words from the book, and they could only faintly be heard over the battle within the room. Jack pushed his way through the beasts, sword materializing in his hand. The half-blood saw him too late, just as the blade was sweeping down towards him, and he snapped his eyes closed as it descended...but it never hit him. He opened his eyes to find a hulking figure in front of him, blade caught between slender hands. Black blood dripped down from the palms as the blade cut into the skin, but it didn't loosen the grip at all. It was the Crawler, finally having stepped out from the boy's shadow to defend his child. "Keep reading!" He hissed as he looked over his shoulder, and Faustus continued with the spell as the Crawler pushed the blade back, growling.

"I wondered when you were going to show up, Crawler...I thought you might've scurried off like a frightened little cockroach!" Jack said as he slashed at the void monster, who dodged or countered if he was able. He stopped the blade again, pulling Jack close and grabbing him by the neck.

"We should've taken a hammer to your mask when we had the chance!" And he threw him into the nearest wall. Jack could feel, and see the bindings begin to materialize around his limbs as the spell continued, and though he did threaten to overpower the Crawler at first, the balance was slowly shifting to the Crawler's advantage...he needed to end it, and he needed it end it _now._

With a shoulder, he pushed the creature to the side, and threw the blade forward...and felt triumphant as he heard the thunk of the body hitting against the wood, and the gasp that followed it. The Crawler knocked him to the floor, and rushed over to the boy...trying to figure out how to remove the sword from his stomach without making things worse. "Faustus...you need to finish the spell...we know it hurts..." Jack was laughing, and the pale figure could hear his Void Father growl, before lifting the book. Faustus just gave him a weak look, before nodding and struggling to finish the final words of the spell as pain continued to bloom, and blood oozed from the wound...

"Jack of Blades, with this spell, I bind you." One wrist was wrapped in rune-inscribed metal, and he pushed himself up to his feet as he came closer. "You are to be imprisoned, cast where you will not harm another soul! Until the day you are released," Two more appeared around his ankles, and he dragged himself closer, hand reaching out to grab the boy. "I so imprison you!" Faustus felt the sharp tips of the metal fingers dig into his arm as a restraint clicked around the wrist, and another around his neck. He felt them tear down the flesh as he was pulled back, and Jack spat out. "You cannot hold me forever...I will get out of these binds, and when I do...I will make sure the world burns, and you are all consumed by the flames!" An orb appeared, the chains dragging into it, sucking the demon inside...and they watched as it shrunk to fit in the palm of one's hand.

The Minions disappeared in a flash of fire, everyone else falling to the floor...Jester, momentarily distracted by the havoc with his eldest brother, lost track of Ace...until he saw the archer scoop up the orb. "He's getting away with Jack-" And that was followed by the shatter of stained glass. He rushed over to the broken window, watching as the archer dropped through the air... and used the jagged spikes on the edges of his bow to slow his fall. One of the bird beasts swooped underneath him and caught him, and carried him off. Jester saw that look he was given as that single eye looked back towards him before he was flown away.

"Faustus! Faustus, stay awake, come on..." Jester turned to look back, to find the Crawler and Adrian both setting their son down on the floor, blade removed, and blood pooling underneath him. "Sweetheart..." Adrian spoke softly, using pieces of his own clothing to try and limit to flow of blood escaping from the wound in the stomach and the deep gashes in the arm. "Come on..." Faustus looked up slowly, a weak smile.

"Did I do good?"

Adrian gave a sad smile as he ran his hands through the boy's hair. "You did wonderful, Faustus...thank you so much for what you've done. You've grown up into a wonderful young man..."

"Auntie Alluna did a good job..." Faustus cooed softly, tilting his head to rest it against the Crawler's leg. "It hurts alot...and I'm getting very tired..." He felt drained, all of a sudden. He could see tears forming in the corners of the human's eyes. "Is it okay if I sleep?" Adrian and the Crawler looked at each other, as if silently communicating...and a slow nod soon answered him. Faustus gave a soft sigh as he relaxed, eyes closing..and he could feel something, akin to sleep, slowly pulling him away...

He was unaware that his breathing was slowing, nor that it finally came to a halt. He didn't feel the weight against his chest as Adrian laid his head upon it, wetting his skin with tears...

Jester had walked over, and knelt down beside the king, placing a hand upon his back in what little comfort he had to offer, the Children cooing softly as they gathered around. Iskal was outside of the room, leaning against the door, face contorted into an expression of defeat and frustration that he could not have arrived sooner...

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Olive eyes opened to find himself not in the castle...but surrounded by space. Stars glimmered and shone around him, and Faustus was floating in the air. He stared in wonder and awe, until he heard a voice speak. _"Faustus, son of King Adrian and the Crawler...welcome." _It was deep and rasping, and had an ethereal echo to it. And yet, it did not bring a feeling of dread. Instead, it brought one of comfort. A being appeared, larger than himself. It was definitely inhuman. It looked almost like a golem, with a body made of dark blue metal, with various tubes of glowing liquid flowing through its chest and down its limbs, the liquid shimmering and shockingly looked like the stars around them. Its head was adorned in six tube-like tentacles, the longest of which had curled teeth-like claws wrapped around its edges. The being's eyes glowed burnt pink as he looked at the boy, a mouth filled with sharp teeth with four large pincher like tusks poking out from its mouth.

"Where am I?"

_"You are at End's Reach, child...where all mortal creatures come when their time is done..."_

"So I'm...dead?" He received no response from the strange figure. "Who are you?"

The eyes opened wider, and he floated closer, until he was directly in front of the void monster. _"I am Exodus. I am the Beginning and the End...I know what was, what is, and what will be. I am Life...and I am Death." _

Faustus looked around, taking in the spacescape that surrounded them. "Is this Heaven?"

_"..Somewhat."_ Exodus responded, eyes closing. _"This is both what mortals call Heaven, and what they call Purgatory."_

"Purgatory?"

_"The in-between, where lost souls come, as well as those who cannot stay. You, are the latter."_

"So I'm...not dead?"

_"I did not say that. You have died...but your parents have given you a gift. Death may be able to touch you...but it cannot take you. If it ever will, is up to how your future plays out. You will return to the land of the living soon."_ Exodus sat, moving to sit cross-legged in the air, gesturing for Faustus to do the same. After the boy sat, one of the strange metal hands swept over the stars between them, forming a window into the mortal world. _"Your body has died...and it has restarted, and began to heal. Our time, though it may seem as though minutes have flown, truly hours have passed since you've entered this plane."_

"Is...everything going to be alright, when I get back?" Faustus asked, staring at the window, watching as his body had been cleaned and bandaged by Iskal and his family, moved to rest in a room...someone was always sitting by his bedside, be it his Fathers or Iskal. Jester came in to help if he was needed, and Alluna seemed to have come to the castle at some point and joined in.

_"They care deeply for you."_ Exodus commented softly as he watched. A few moments of silence passed between them, before he looked towards the boy. _"It is time to send you back."_

"Wait...before I go...what is my future going to be like?" He had said he knew the future, after all, and it wasn't often that you get the chance to speak with such a person.

Exodus just smiled, tilting his head. _"That is up to you to figure out...I will be keeping an eye on you, Child. Let us hope you do not need to visit me soon."_

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Oh, the pain. His chest ached agonizingly, and knew then that he was definitely alive. He groaned loudly as he groggily blinked his eyes open, coughing and cringing at the ache that came with what he did. "Hey, he's awake!" It was Iskal, he could tell from the accent. He could hear the jingling of bells, the click of claws, and two sets of shoes...and as his eyes focused, he found everyone was crowded around the bed. The shades were even peering over some of their shoulders.

"Um...Hi?" Adrian hugged him, though loosened his grip as the boy whimpered from the pain of being hugged too tight.

"Sorry...how are you feeling?" His father asked, leaning back.

"Ow." Was all Faustus said in reply. "Just...ow."

"You scared the hell out of us." The Crawler spoke, smirking, but looking very relieved. "You stopped breathing and...oh, I'm sure our own heart stopped then." He placed a hand over his chest, barely hidden by is thin brown robe.

"You're a real lucky bastard, y'know that?" The naga chimed in. "Cheated death not once, but twice! You gonna make it a habit to do this?"

"No, I'd rather not." Faustus replied, resting against his pillows. "Twice is more than enough for me..."

"Thank goodness you're alright." Alluna spoke, grasping one of his hands in the same worried way she had always possessed with him. "I thought I had sent you to your doom...that would've been horrible..."

"Well, I'm still here." The boy chuckled, his tail stretching out and lazily coiling underneath the blankets. "So...what's the news with the Blades?"

"Ace took off with the orb Jack was stuck in, but..I don't think we'll have to worry about them anytime soon." Adrian replied, and glanced over towards the youngest Blade. "And Jester...I think he'll be staying with us for awhile." The Crawler hadn't been entirely pleased, given Jester had had a hand in trying to kill their children and destroy everything...but Adrian had told him that the fool had been kind, and was willing to give him the benefit of a doubt for the king.

"So...what's going to happen now?" They all glanced at each other, as if trying to decide.

"I think...it's time to let humans try and rebuild and get up to speed again. And perhaps a new change of scenery is needed...or a good castle makeover..." The older purple-haired man said, going on about what they could do or how to do it. Faustus just half-listened, and after looking at all of the people surrounding his bed, he closed his eyes with a pleased sigh.

He was done playing hero, for now. It was time to be home...safe, and surrounded by people who cared for him. He hoped that trouble wouldn't be rearing it's ugly head again...

But one never knows, do they?


End file.
